Dutch Harp Festival
The 1000 Strings Festival is a harp musical festival that takes place every two years in Utrecht, Netherlands. The festival was founded in 2010 and features harpists from around the world and a variety of musical genres. The festival also includes visuals, sound and light installations, instrument workshops, and an area to try out different harps.
The World Harp Competition finals also take place alongside the festival.
The next 1000 Stings Festival will take place on Saturday, 18 April 2026 at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Funding
In June 2024 the Utrecht festival subsidy committee advised the municipality to terminate the multi-year subsidy of many local festivals including the 1000 Strings Festival. This threatened the continuation of the festival and the renowned World Harp Competition.Organizers
The team includes Remy van Kesteren, Gert Wijnalda, Elizabeth Jaxon Paul Hooijmans, Marit Nijhuis, Jochem Winterwerp and Henriett Somlai. Volunteers help to make the event possible by supporting as guides, harp movers, drivers, and roles in the restaurant, ticketing desk and information areas.Previous festivals
2024
The 2024 the festival was titled Night of a 1000 Strings and the lineup included Deborah Henson-Conant, Brandee Younger, Catrin Finch and Aoife Ní Bhriain, Remy van Kesteren, Alexander Boldachev and Alexandr Misko, Tom Monger, Angélica Salvi, Tempo!, Charles Overton, Juanjo Corbalán Quartet, Miriam Adefris, XKTdra – sound immersion, Thessa Carina, ROWANN, Ensemble Místico, and Ranie Ribeiro. Both the World Harp Competition semifinals and finals were held alongside the festival.The festival was sold out weeks before the event and for more than 60% of the visitors it was their first time attending a harp concert.
2022
The 2022 festival was held online and the lineup included Mary Lattimore, Andrew Lawrence-King, Remy van Kesteren, Mahazer, Kety Fusco, XNDR and Remy van Kesteren, Héloïse Carlean-Jones, Julie Rokseth, and Sophie Nzayisenga.2021 (originally 2020)
The festival was streamed online in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. It was originally scheduled for May 2020 but was postponed for a year due to the pandemic. Performers included Lavinia Meijer, Tom Monger, Mary Lattimore, Remy van Kesteren, Sunniva Rødland and Notam.2018
In 2018 the theme for the festival was Welcome to Planet Harp. The lineup included Nikolaz Cadoret, Hélène Breschand, Edmar Castañeda and Remy van Kesteren.2016
Harps Without Borders was the theme of the 2016 festival. The lineup included Sivan Magen, Ben Creighton Griffiths, Catrin Finch, Park Stickney, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Remy van Kesteren, and Nobody's Cult.Sharing the venue in 2016 alongside the festival was the Open Harp Day, hosted by the Dutch Harp Society and the Dutch Folk Harp Society. The festival was also integrated into the Jazz Harp Academy.