LAVINIA MEIJER

Lavinia Meijer

“That Meijer thoroughly technically masters the harp goes without saying. More important is that everything she plays, whether it is a fugue by Bach, a romantic piece by Fauré, or the pleasurably modern 'Spiders' by Paul Patterson, is filled with colour and life. She achieves this not only by giving ...
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harp

Mentioned in the biography of

2007   Carlos Micháns
2007   Nederlands Jeugd Strijk Orkest
2010   Giovanca
2011   Ruysdael Kwartet
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Biography Lavinia Meijer

“That Meijer thoroughly technically masters the harp goes without saying. More important is that everything she plays, whether it is a fugue by Bach, a romantic piece by Fauré, or the pleasurably modern 'Spiders' by Paul Patterson, is filled with colour and life. She achieves this not only by giving each of the individual lines its own dynamic arc, but also through the arsenal of timbres she possesses, a wealth of tints from the chirping of crickets to an orchestral majesty.” (De Volkskrant, October 2006) As an ambassador of the harp, Lavinia Meijer, in addition to playing lesser known harp music of the past, tries to encourage composers of today to write for the instrument. Meijer: “My goal is to let the solo aspect of the harp be heard. The harp has so many possibilities at its disposal that often are unknown to audiences”. Lavinia Meijer is regularly invited to perform as a soloist in Europe, Asia, and the United States. She has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israeli Philharmonic, and the Korean Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed at various festivals (the Amsterdam Grachten Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Festival) and the World Harp Congress (Prague, Geneva and Dublin).

1994 - 2002

Lavinia Meijer studies the harp at the Utrecht Conservatory with Erika Waardenburg. She wins various prizes while a student: first prize at the Princess Christina Competition (1997), Foundation for Young Musical Talent of the Netherlands (1996 and 1998), and the Netherlands Harp Competition (1997 and 2004). She comes in second place at the International Harp Competition in Lausanne (1998), third at the International Harp Competition in Lille (1999), first at the International Harp Competition in Brussels (2000), third at the International Harp Competition in Israel, and second at the Josef Renl International Harp Competition in Vienna (2002).

Erika Waardenburg Theo Olof Walter van Hauwe Willem Brons

2003 - 2004

Lavinia Meijer is awarded her Bachelor of Music degree cum laude at the Utrecht Conservatory and continues her education at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She also takes master classes with Jana Bouskova, Isabelle Moretti, Daphne Boden, Natalia Shameyva, Emilia Moskvitina, Maria Graf, Skaila Kanga and Susann McDonald. Having broad musical tastes, she follows a course by the jazz harpist Park Stickney and takes interpretation lessons with Theo Olof, Walter van Hauwe and Willem Brons. With the Jenufa Quartet, she tours the Netherlands in The Debut concert series. At the USA Harp Competition in 2004, she wins third prize for best interpretation of Visions in Twilight by Garret Byrnes and Georg Frideric Handel’s harp concerto.

2005

Lavinia Meijer is awarded her Master of Music degree cum laude at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. At her final examination, she performs only music composed in the last 30 years. She wins first prize at the Vriendenkrans competition at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. She is awarded the 2005 Ede Culture Prize, presented by Herman Krebbers, for her achievements in and dedication to promoting the harp as a solo instrument.

2006

Meijer receives a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship (London). In the Rising Stars concert series, she performs in the great concert halls of Europe and in New York (Carnegie Hall). With the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, she plays new transcriptions of music by André Caplet, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and two world premieres of works Carlos Micháns and Wijnand van Klaveren – both pieces were written specially for Meijer and the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet.

Aurelia Saxofoon Kwartet

2007

With the violinist Tjeerd Top, Meijer performs the world premiere of a piece by the American composer Garrett Byrnes in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. The two receive the MeesPierson Award. In April, she performs the premiere of Carlos Micháns’ Harp Concerto with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Thierry Fischer, at the Vredenburg Music Centre in Utrecht.

Carlos Micháns Tjeerd Top

2008

Channel Classics releases Meijers first solo CD, Divertissements. Classics Today gives it a 10 for both its artistic and recording quality.

2009

During the New Year’s Concert in her native South Korea, she makes her debut with the Korean Symphony Orchestra – her natural father is in the audience. She makes her debut with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra in the Main Hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Meijer is awarded the Netherlands Music Prize, the highest distiction for a musician in the Netherlands. Her second solo CD, Visions, is released.

2010 - 2011

The soul singer Giovanca invites her to perform on her new CD, and the two also give concerts together. In May 2011 she plays with Philip Glass and the Days and Nights Festival Players at the Melkweg in Amsterdam.

Giovanca

2012

Philip Glass invites Lavinia Meijer to play at his concerts in April at the Melkweg in Amsterdam. She wins the Edison Classic Public Price for the CD Fantasies & Impromtus.

Photos Lavinia Meijer

Audio/Video Lavinia Meijer

Video Lavinia Meijer