My name is Merle (born in 2004), and since 2019 I’ve been able to play a harp provided by the Music Instrument Fund. Since 2021, I’ve been playing a beautiful Lyon & Healy Style 11.
I chose the harp when I was 7 during a “Choose Your Instrument” course. Before I began studying with Erika Waardenburg in 2016, I took lessons from Lavinia Meijer for several months. After spending two years at the Academie Muzikaal Talent, I started at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in September 2022, where I continued my studies with Erika. I took masterclasses with Lavinia Meijer, Sivan Magen, Alexander Boldachev, Masumi Nagasawa, Isabelle Perrin, and Stephen Fitzpatrick. Last academic year, I went on an exchange to Oslo and studied with Isabelle Perrin. I enjoyed the masterclasses with Isabelle so much that I wanted to continue studying with her for longer.
In recent years, I have been a prize winner on several occasions at the Princess Christina Competition (where I once again had the honor of performing in the national finals in 2022), the Rosa Spier Harp Competition, the Maassluis Competition, Classic Young Masters, and the Archipel Music Competition. I got off to a wonderful start at the conservatory with solo performances with the Netherlands Youth Orchestra, the Britten Youth String Orchestra, and the Betuws Symphony Orchestra. These were incredibly fun and educational experiences!
Together with my younger sister Sarah, who plays the flute, I also had some wonderful adventures. For example, we got to perform as soloists with the Nijmegen Symphony Orchestra; we played in the main hall of TivoliVredenburg; we were guests in the Spiegelzaal with Hans van den Boom; and in November 2021, we appeared together as “Paul’s Young Heroes” on Podium Witteman. I also really enjoy playing in the Triptyque ensemble, with Sarah on flute and Fama Koning on cello. The three of us were invited back to visit Hans van den Boom in December 2023 to play in the Spiegelzaal once again!
I play this Lyon & Healy harp thanks to the VandenBroek Foundation.
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@merlevanderlijke
The profile photo was taken by Foppe Schut.
