Competitions › World Harp Competition
World Harp Competition
Overview
The World Harp Competition, run by the Dutch Harp Festival, is a biennial competition for harpists of any genre and any type of harp. Candidates design and perform an original live programme that features the harp, and the first prize winner joins a career development programme.
- Organiser
- Dutch Harp Festival
- Instruments
- Harp
- Category
- Solo harp
- Age limits
- No age limit; open to harpists of all nationalities (pedal, lever, electro-acoustic, electric and ethnic harps)
Rules & repertoire
Registration & fee
Online application with MP3 audio, programme description, biography and photos; fee EUR 100 (non-refundable; fee grants available). For the 2026 edition the deadline was 1 October 2025.
Rounds & time limits
- Preselection: anonymous review of one unedited audio recording and programme description (up to 14 advance)
- Video round: preview video of 5-8 minutes (up to 14 advance)
- Semifinals: 45-minute live original programme (three finalists)
- Finals: 15 minutes per finalist
Repertoire
Free; candidates design an original 45-minute semifinal programme (any genre, style, staging or instrumentation) and a 15-minute finals programme.
Jury & prizes
Jury
Not published on the official pages we could check.Prizes
- 1st prize EUR 5,000 plus the Care, Coaching and Career (CCC) development programme
- 2nd and 3rd prizes
- Audience Award
Past editions
- 2024 source
1st Kevin Le Pennec (France); 2nd Amy Nam (USA); 3rd Ariel Sol (USA); Audience Award: Kevin Le Pennec - 2022 source
1st Juanjo Corbalán (Paraguay); 2nd Julie Rokseth (Norway); 3rd Maria Sá Silva (Portugal); Audience Award: Julie Rokseth - 2021 source
1st Uno Alexander Vesje (Norway); 2nd Romy Wymer (Netherlands); 3rd Grace Roepke (USA); 4th Tara Minton (Australia); Audience Award: Romy Wymer - 2018 source
1st César Secundino (Mexico); 2nd Alice Belugou (France/Switzerland); 3rd Aimee Hang Yu Lam (Hong Kong); Audience Award: César Secundino - 2016 source
1st Emmanuel Padilla Holguín (Mexico); 2nd Jean-Baptiste Haye (France); 3rd Giulia Ott (Switzerland); Audience Award: Emmanuel Padilla Holguín
Summarised from official sources, last checked 10 Nov 2026. Main source