Looking for

a better

harp case

An awkward moment

Merle speaks with mixed feelings about the “accident” involving her harp, which happened on a day when she was scheduled to give two concerts. To ensure a successful performance, she had decided to practice for a while in her room in Amsterdam. Full of inspiration, Merle took the harp out of its case. Merle herself is just a little shorter than her harp, and her room isn’t very spacious, so unpacking it turned out to be quite a challenge. Unfortunately, there was no one around to help her.

Still, Merle gave it a try. After all, her concerts were getting closer and closer. But that’s where things went wrong. Merle couldn’t manage to push herself beyond her limits. The harp, still partially in its case, fell over and hit the windowsill hard. It was heartbreaking for Merle to see a large crack form in the neck of the instrument.

Well received

After this incident, she immediately called some experts, who advised her to relieve the tension on the harp’s strings to prevent further damage. She then raised the alarm with the Musical Instrument Fund. Of course, it was a bit of a shock at first, but we were very glad that Merle had taken immediate action and understood her situation.

The instrument was sent to a workshop in Italy for repair, where Lyon & Healy harps are in good hands. The restoration took no less than four months.

In the meantime, Merle was able to borrow two other harps: a Lyon & Healy harp (2015) from the foundation’s collection, which she used mainly at home for her studies, and a harp belonging to Joke Brethouwer, a former harpist with Het Gelders Orkest, which she used to perform in concerts.

Of inestimable value

During this time, Merle realized even more how much the harp from the Musical Instrument Fund means to her. She was initially worried that the sound would have changed after the repair, but to her relief, the harp sounded just as beautiful as before. It took a little getting used to at first, but now the instrument feels completely like her own again.

A common problem

After the accident, Merle set out to investigate. She discovered that many teachers and fellow students at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam share the same frustration: all harp covers have some drawback. Either you have to lift the cover all the way over the harp, or you use a lighter model that requires you to lift the harp to place it on the foot cover. Both options are difficult to do on your own if you aren’t very tall or strong, which increases the chance that the harp will tip over.