Sultan of a different string: Joost Willemze talks about his journey as a harpist

Bengaluru-based Indian Music Experience Museum (IME) will be hosting an online session with Dutch harpist Joost Willemze

Pop culture has conditioned us to think of harps and chubby, little cherubs together — not many music stores in India stock harps in the string section. An upcoming online session with Dutch harpist Joost Willemze, hosted by Bengaluru-based Indian Music Experience Museum (IME) on September 25 could serve as an introduction to the instrument.

Joost Willemze, however, believes his initiation to the world of harps was meant to be. “It was Open Day at a music school in my home town; instruments were arranged in every room for the benefit of visitors. The very first room I entered had harps of different shapes and sizes. I picked one up, registered for the course and never looked back. I was seven years old,” says Joost, adding, “By the age of 11, I had progressed to playing a pedal harp which is bigger and more complex as it allows for changes in pitch and can play pieces written in any key.”

Today, Joost (25) has performed all over the world including the Schiermonikoog Festival, the Rio Harp Festival in Brazil and for the Italian minister of Culture and Education in Rome, apart from his regular appearances with Patrick van der Linden’s Ars Musica, as an orchestra musician.