Anouk Platenkamp

Anouk’s love for the harp started at the age of three and has grown steadily ever since. She has a bachelor degree in Classical Pedal Harp (conservatory of Maastricht) and branched out into specialisation courses in Jazz Harp (Codarts conservatory, Rotterdam) and Therapeutic Harp Music (International Harp Therapy Program –USA).

She performs a wide range of music, from classical to traditional, both as a soloist and together with other prominent Dutch musicians. She is dedicated to promoting the Celtic harp and determined to establish it as an instrument with its own repertoire and style, separating it from the wider known pedal harp. Her repertoire encompasses a range of traditional music from many European cultures, such as Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Bulgaria, former Yugoslavia and Sweden.
While Dutch traditional music is often forgotten and neglected, Anouk’s interest in European traditional music brought her to discover her own country’s roots. She has since become the first harpist to adapt Dutch music for the Celtic harp.

As part of her goal to promote the Celtic harp she is an active participant in the Dutch folk harp scene. She was an active member of the Dutch Folk Harp Association, and for many years edited their quarterly the magazine. In 2013 she founded the International Harp Friends Meeting, a festival that became the place to be for Dutch folk harpers. She strives to fulfill her dream of an independent Dutch folk harp festival in the form of the Low Land Harp Weekend, which first took place in 2018.

Anouk is a well-loved teacher in the Netherlands, Germany and at festivals all over Europe. She has taught, among others, in Scotland (Edinburgh International Harp Festival), Sweden (Nordic Harp Meeting) and Belgium (Flanders Celtic Harp Meeting).

Anouk has been playing bedside harp music since the age of 12. She has kept doing this even since. At the moment she plays both solo and with ‘de Muzikale Ontmoeting’ (the Musical Meeting). They bring the Musical Night Kiss, a musical evening ritual for anyone who wants to enter the night peacefully.

For the MuzIC foundation she plays on the ICU of several hospitals in the Netherlands. By offering positive musical meetings they aim to minimize the impact of a stay in the ICU for both patient and family.

Anouk was one of the first therapeutic harpists in the Netherlands and has developed her own program and method, instructing harpists on how to make music with therapeutic benefits.