World Harp Competition

The Dutch Harp Festival (DHF) World Harp Competition is an international harp competition hosted in the Netherlands every two years. The competition is open to all harpists regardless of age, nationality and musical genre.

The finals are held live at the Dutch Harp Festival in the Netherlands. Since 2022 the semifinals are also held in the Netherlands over two days at the beginning of the Dutch Harp Festival.

History
The DHF World Harp Competition was founded in 2010 and named the Dutch Harp Competition. It followed the traditional classical format where candidates played from a set repertoire. In 2018 the competition changed its name to World Harp Competition and adopted a unique model in which candidates create their own 45-minute program showcasing not only their technical quality but also their unique style, creativity and their ability to connect with their audience.

“Our mission is not to judge who is the best technical player but rather to find the best all-around artist. By giving competitors space to be creative, we hope to get harpists thinking about what makes a compelling performance and how best to connect with their audience", said competition director Elizabeth Jaxon.

Organizers
Elizabeth Jaxon is the director for the World Harp Competition. She is also one of the board member for the Dutch Harp Festival along with Remy van Kesteren, Gert Wijnalda and Paul Hooijmans. Volunteers help to make the event possible by supporting as guides, harp movers, drivers, and roles in the restaurant, ticketing desk and information areas.

Format and Prizes
There are four rounds in the competition: a recorded Preliminary Round, a Video Round, live Semifinals, and live Finals. For the first round, contestants submit an audio recording of them playing a piece of their choice. The recording submissions are made anonymous before the judges listen to them to choose the candidates who are invited to the video round. Up to 14 candidates from the video round are invited to the live semifinals where they will play their full 45-minute programme. Based on the results of the semifinal, three finalists are chosen to present a 15-minute program of their choice.

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes are awarded by the judges based on the candidate's performances in the semifinals and finals. Members of the public are also invited to vote for a candidate of their choice to receive the audience award. Each of the finalists receives a cash prize and the winner also receives further support from the Care, Coaching, and Career (CCC) development program.

2024

 * Llywelyn Ifan Jones (United Kingdom)
 * Kevin Le Pennec (France)
 * Ruth Lee (United Kingdom)
 * Katia Mestrovic (Australia)
 * Océane Minder (Switzerland)
 * Amy Nam (USA)
 * Dafne Paris (Netherlands)
 * Fiona Rutherford (United Kingdom)
 * Ariel Sol Bertulfo Schwartz (USA)
 * Alexander Thomas (United Kingdom)
 * Emma Thomazeau (France)

2022

 * Héloïse Carlean-Jones (France)
 * Juan Corbalán (Paraguay)
 * Cara Dawson (UK/Germany)
 * Maria Sá Silva (Portugal)
 * Julie Rokseth (Norway)
 * Nathania Ko (Canada)

2018

 * Alice Belugou (France/Switzerland)
 * Abigail Kent (USA)
 * Aimee Hang Yu Lam (Hong Kong/UK)
 * Rosanna Moore (UK)
 * Pia Salvia (Belgium)
 * Cesar Secundino (Mexico)
 * Uno Alexander Vesje (Norway)
 * Oliver Wass (UK)

2016

 * Miriam Ruf (Germany)
 * Kana Onishi (Japan)
 * Emmanuel Padilla Holguín (Mexico)
 * Aurélie Bouchard (France)
 * Nick Scholten (Netherlands)
 * Giulia Ott (Switzerland)
 * Beate Loonstra (Netherlands)
 * Jean-Baptiste Haye (France)

2024
The 2024 jury members were Catrin Finch (Chair), Brandee Younger, Deborah Henson-Conant, Guido van Oorschot, Joost Neelemans, Martin Fondse, and Maya Fridman.

2022
The 2022 jury members were Gavriel Lipkind (Chair), Jana Boušková, Maryna Krut, Nikolaz Cadoret, Masumi Nagasawa, Sophie Nzayisenga, and Vasile Nedea.

2018
The jury in 2018 consisted of Remy van Kesteren, Maeve Gilchrist, and Rob Paterson.