Scandinavian Harp Course's mission is to widen the appeal of the harp in the Nordic countries by organizing courses, workshops and concert programs.
Fourth Scandinavian Harp Course
(originally planned for June 2023) will actually take place in June 2024.
The course is scheduled as part of the Summer Academy at Valdres at the end of June (21st - 26th June 2024).
Early registration essential! Registration on the Valdres Summer Symfoni website terminated 15th January 2024, but we can accept applications until 9th February.
See: https://www.sommersymfoni.no/en/courses/the-courses-2024/scandinavian-harp-course/
Course teachers: Isabelle Perrin and Erik Groenestein-Hendriks (harp), Stephen Parker (Alexander Technique)
You are welcome to send in your application to participate in the course in June 2024.
The Valdres Summer Symphony Course, which runs concurrently, has an emphasis on children and youth. The harp is a so-called «instrument in focus» in Norway, and we hope to inspire the young to take it up. You are welcome to participate in any way you can to inspire the youth and children present. Naturally the Harp Course will be the focus of your attention, but we would encourage you to show off your skills and help create a future generation of harpists, as you see fit!
The following is the text for the 2022 course. This forms the basis of the 2024 course, and may be modified as we get closer to the date.
Participating teachers:
Isabelle Perrin
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Erik Groenestein-Hendriks
From a very young age, Isabelle Perrin has been passionate about the harp. She began her training at the Conservatoire National de Région de Nice, where she gave her first public recital at the age of seventeen, then continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, before joining the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and later on the Orchestre National de France as co-principal harpist for 25 years. Invitations to give recitals and concerto performances with orchestras worldwide have led her to a truly international career. In addition to her solo career, Isabelle Perrin is Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and is regularly invited as a guest professor by renowned institutions such as Indiana University, Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Royal College of Music in London, etc. Isabelle Perrin has been decorated by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and admitted to the Knighthood of the Order of Arts and Letters; she is currently Artistic Director to the World Harp Congress as well as Honorary Associate to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Erik Groenestein-Hendriks has been the principal harpist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 2013. He has played with orchestras around the world, and with conductors such as Haitink, Dudamel, Gardiner and Nelssons. From 2007 until 2010 Erik was the solo harpist of the Orquesta Philharmonica de Santiago (Opera/Ballet) in Chile.
As a soloist he has been asked to play with orchestras around the world, such as the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Nordica, Musica Vitea, and Norrlands Opera.
In 2012 Erik bought an Erard harp. With this instrument he played with well-known historical instrument ensembles such as the Combattimento Consort, Balthasar Neumann Ensemble, Anima Eterna, Les Siegles and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
As a chamber musician Erik is active with a flute/harp duo with Anders Jonhäll, a viola/flute/harp trio with Tuula Fleivik Nurmo and Håvard Lysebo, and is a member of the Ensemble Caplet, a combination of harp, flute and string quartet. This ensemble mostly performs French repertoire and has been giving concerts all around Europe.
Since 2015 Erik has taught at the Högskolan för Scen och Musik at the University of Gothenburg.
Stephen Parker
Stephen Parker teaches the Alexander Technique to many known musicians and actors in Norway. He runs private practices in Bergen and Oslo, and works with many musicians in several national orchestras in both Norway and Sweden, including the National Opera in Oslo, the Bergen Philharmonic, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Gothenburg Opera. He also has a permanent position at the Norwegian Academy of Music where he teaches both students and teachers. He emphasizes the direct application of the Technique to playing and practicing.
Course Content and Practical Information
Participants will be offered the highest quality teaching, focusing on solo repertoire and orchestra excerpts, as well as accompanying lessons in the Alexander Technique.
Programme framework :
- Individual teaching and masterclasses
- Group teaching (orchestra excerpts)
- Alexander Technique tuition
- Mock audition with panel
- The winner of the Mock audition will be invited to play 2nd harp with one or more major Orchestras in the 2024-2025 season) *
- Daily Qigong warm-up
*The weeks with the orchestras depend upon repertoire and planning. It may be difficult to lay plans with some of the orchestras, meaning that they cannot guarantee work. Travel expenses are covered differently with every orchestra according to the pending national rules.
Each participant will receive 4 lessons in total from Isabelle and Erik and 2 Alexander Technique lessons, as well as group classes.
Course language: Main language is English.
Places are limited, so please apply soon. Places will be granted pending approval of your CV. This can be sent to: contact@scandinavianharpcourse.com (or use the enquiry form below).
Cut-off date for applications is 24th April 2024. Pending insufficient applicants the organizing committee reserve the right to cancel the course up until this date.
The following are pieces that can be prepared for the course - participants do not need to prepare them all, and they can also bring their own pieces that they are working on. You may, for example, wish to bring your own solo piece(s) in addition to picking out two from the suggested list.
Suggested solo pieces: Please prepare at least two of these. Only one piece (free of choice) will be required for the audition.
Spohr, Fantasy for harp in C minor, Op.35
Händel, Harp concert in B flat major
Mozart, Flute & harp concerto in C major
Fauré, Impromptu No. 6 in D-flat Major, Op 86
Hindemith, Harp sonata
Debussy, Danses sacrée et profane
C.P.E. Bach - Sonate pour harpe en sol majeur (Allegro)
Ravel - Introduction et allegro
Please prepare one of the Tchaikovsky cadenzas and the Donizetti cadenza:
Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker - cadenza
Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake - cadenza
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor - cadenza
Obligatory Orchestra Parts:
Strauss, Salome's Dance (10 bars before Q until Y)
Wagner, Tannhäuser Act 1
Obligatory 2-part Orchestra pieces:
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique (pages 1, 2 and 3 until W or 35 (harp 1 and 2)
Verdi, La forza del destino, Overture
Wagner, Feuerzauber
Verdi, La Forza del destino, Overture (harp 1 and 2)
Wagner, Feuerzauber (until 6th bar after 98, one harp version)
This is a non-exhaustive list; participants are welcome to include more excerpts. Likewise, the mock audition will be based on these pieces.
Participants who do not want to take part in the Mock Audition can bring any repertoire
The course fee includes all teaching, accommodation and meals. Travel to and from Valdres is left to the participants. More information concerning transport from Oslo airport (Gardemoen) to the course location close to Fagernes, will be given following your application.
Please indicate - whether you plan to bring your own instrument.
- whether you have special dietary requirements
The minimum age limit is 18. Please contact us if you are under 18 and wish to attend.
Keywords: Scandinavianharpcourse
Applications and Enquiries:
Please use the contact form below both for general enquiries and to submit an application
© 2017 by Constructive Constructions.
Contact Us
Please address any questions you have to us by completing the form below. You can also use this form to submit your application for approval when sending in your CV. (Your message can extend beyond the box limit below).
e-mail: contact@scandinavianharpcourse.com