Biography
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Born
12 February 1983 (age 41)
Lavinia Meijer is a Dutch harpist. When she was 11 years old, Lavinia was accepted by Erika Waardenburg to study at the Young Talent Department of the Utrecht Conservatory. She graduated cum laude from the Utrecht Conservatory in 2003 and obtained a Masters Degree in Music (also cum laude) in 2005 from the Amsterdam Conservatory.
For her masters degree Lavinia studied under, among others, Jana Bouskova, Isabelle Moretti, Daphne Boden, Natalia Shameyva, Emilia Moskvitina, Maria Graf, Skaila Kanga and Susann McDonald. She also took a jazz course from the jazz harpist Park Stickney and lessons on interpretation with Theo Olof (violin), Walter van Hauwe (recorder) en Willem Brons (piano).
Lavinia has performed in Europe, Asia and America. She has played as a soloist with orchestras, such as the Residentie Orkest, the Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. She was invited to play during festivals such as the Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, the Schleswig-Holstein Muziek Festival and a number of World Harp Congresses. Lavinia is also a regular substitute for various orchestras, including the Residentie Orkest and the Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest.
In 2004 Lavinia made a tour through the Netherlands in the series "Het Debut" together with the Jenufa Quartet. In the period 2006-2008, Lavinia is performing in the series "Rising Stars" with concerts in Cologne (Philharmonie), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Paris (Cité-de-la-Musique), Vienna (Wiener Musikverein), Birmingham (Symphony Hall), Athens (Concert Hall), Brussels (Paleis voor schone kunsten), Luxembourg (Philharmonie), Stockholm (Konserthus) and New York (Carnegie Hall).
In 2006 Lavinia, together with the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, performed new transcriptions of Caplet, Debussy and Ravel, and also two world premieres from the Argentinian composer Carlos Michans and the Dutch composer Wijnand van Klaveren, both of which composed music especially for her and the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet. In 2007 Lavinia and Tjeerd Top (violin), performed a world premiere from the American composer Garrett Byrnes at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Furthermore in 2007, Lavinia performed another world premiere piece composed by Carlos Mischans at the Vredenburg in Utrecht, together with the Radio Chamber Philharmony conducted by Thierry Fischer .
Lavinia Meijer has won a large number of prizes. She won the first prize at the Prinses Christina Competition (1997), the Stichting Jong Muziek Talent Nederland (1996,1998), the Nederlands Harp Competition (1997, 2004) and the Vriendenkrans contest from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (2005).
She also won prizes at several large international harp competitions: the second prize at the International Harp Competition in Lausanne (1998), the third prize at the International Harp Competition in Lille (1999), the first prize at the International Harp Competition in Brussels (2000), the third prize at the International Harp Competition in Israel (2001), the second prize at the Reinl-Wettbewerb in Vienna (2002) and the third prize at the Sixth International USA Harp Competition in America (2004).
Furthermore, she has won prizes for the best interpretation of Visions in Twilight from Garrett Byrnes and the harp concert in B-flat major from Georg Friedrich Händel. In 2005, Lavinia was awarded the Cultuurprijs from Ede for her promotion of the harp as a solo instrument. This prize was presented to her by the renowned Herman Krebbers .
In 2007, Lavinia was awarded the Fellowship from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London, as well as the MeesPierson Award at the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) together with violinist Tjeerd Top.
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