Joost Willemze

Joost is one of the leading Dutch harpists. At age 16 he was awarded the first prize of the Princess Christina Competition. In 2017 he won the International Harp Competition in Porto and one year later the Italian competition Suoni d'Arpa. In 2023 he made a tour of the main concert halls in The Netherlands and won the prestigious Dutch Classical Talent Award and this summer he won the 'Grachtenfestivalprijs', making him Artist in Residence at the 2024 edition of the Grachtenfestival. Recently he made his solo debut with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Debussy's 'Danses Sacrée et profane' at the main stage of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. The Dutch newspaper NRC recently named him a rising star for 2024.

Joost studied at the Academie Muzikaal Talent with Erika Waardenburg and Edward Witsenburg. Recently he obtained his Master's degree from the Amsterdam Conservatory with excellence. He has won numerous prizes and awards at the International Harp Competition in Wales, the Gerswhin Competition in New York, the Concours Godefroid in Tournai, the Reinl Wettbewerb in Munich, the Bertold Hummel Competition in Würzburg and the Korea International Harp Competition in Seoul.

Joost performs extensively throughout the Netherlands and abroad. Recent performances include concerts at the Schiermonikoogfestival, the Dutch Harp Festival and the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam. He also performed at the Italian ministeries of Culture and Education in Rome and at the Rio Harp Festival in Brazil.

As an orchestra musician he regularly plays with the Dutch National Youth Orchestra , the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Netherlands Philarmonic Orchestra (NedPho) and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Joost is also an enthustiastic chamber music player, one of the highlights being a performance with star violinist Renaud Capuçon at the Konzerthaus Berlin.