Want to get to know me? Read on!
My name is Anneleen Schuitemaker. When I was 10, I heard the enchanting sounds of the harp for the first time, and I knew right away: this is going to be my instrument!
I’ve since earned my Master of Music degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (2018), and I’ve been playing as a full-time harpist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra since August 2020.
I have a deep passion for orchestral playing and chamber music, and I love creating magic on stage together with other musicians.
Want to get to know me a little better? Read on!
My name is Anneleen Schuitemaker (1992).
When I was 10, I heard the harp for the first time during an open house at the music school in Katwijk and instantly fell in love with the instrument’s enchanting sounds. Since then, the harp has been an integral part of my life.
Since March 2016, I’ve been the proud owner of a beautiful Lyon & Healy concert harp, which was purchased through the Music Instrument Fund. I’m incredibly grateful to the fund for this! The new concert harp has a warm, rich tone in the lower register and a clear, sparkling tone in the upper register. The instrument’s wide range of possibilities also offers me more opportunities to develop my skills and get the most out of it. This is exactly what I was looking for!
Anneleen Schuitemaker (1992) grew up in the coastal town of Katwijk aan Zee and fell in love with the enchanting sounds of the harp as a 10-year-old girl. She took her first harp lessons at the music school in Katwijk, and after earning her VWO diploma, she began her studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Erika Waardenburg in September 2010. There, she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master of Music degrees.
Since August 2020, Anneleen has been a permanent harpist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and has since performed in many European Union member states and beyond, including Iceland, the United Arab Emirates, and various countries in Asia. In addition, she has been teaching orchestral performance to the harp class at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam since September 2023.
Anneleen has always had a passion for orchestral playing and further specialized in this field during her studies. From 2015 to 2019, she attended the orchestra academy at two major opera orchestras in Germany: first for two years with the Staatskapelle in Berlin and then with the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.
Anneleen regularly performs with professional orchestras both in the Netherlands and abroad, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Staatskapelle Berlin, and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.
In addition, she is active as a soloist and recently performed Debussy’s Harp Concerto with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra. In 2023, she will perform part of this concerto three times with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer, in the main hall of the Concertgebouw.
Anneleen has won several awards, including first prize and the audience prize at the Rosa Spier Harp Competition (2011) and first prize at the 5th International Harp Competition in Sandstedt, Germany (2014). In the field of chamber music, Anneleen performs in ensembles of various configurations. For example, she regularly performs with RCO Camerata, the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s chamber ensemble. Anneleen also forms a regular duo with trombonist Jeffrey Kant (principal trombonist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne) and has been a member of the Borealis Trio—an ensemble consisting of flute, violin, and harp—since 2011. In 2012, the trio won second prize at the Tristan Keuris Chamber Music Competition.
