About Danielle Riegel
The Harp ~ my Destiny
At the age of 3 I heard a harp for the first time and its magical sounds enchanted me like love at first sight. As a highly intuitive, sensitive and imaginative child I was drawn to the arts from an early age. The harp in particularly soothed and connected me with a dream world beyond the material world. I had to beg my parents for a harp and in the meantime they had me learn the recorder and piano. At the age of 10 I finally received my first harp and harp classes and at the age of 12 I was admitted to the Young Talent Department of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands.
Over the course of my now 35+ years of career I have come to realize that this is my soul’s purpose. Still today when I play the harp I feel inspired with a divine spark and connected with unconditional love and light. I love serving the world by sharing this experience. I am passionate about creating meaningful musical experiences and building personal connections with audiences, clients and students.
From a very early age I studied with leading harpists in the Netherlands and abroad during summer courses and masterclasses. In the Netherlands I studied with legendary teachers Edward Witsenburg and Erika Waardenburg and graduated ‘Cum Laude” as a teacher, chamber musician and performing artist.
With the help of a grant from the Prins Bernhard Foundation, I was able to study with the famous harpists Germaine Lorenzini and Isabelle Moretti in France for 2 years.
Thanks to winning a Nuffic grant, the highest prize from the Dutch government , I was able to study for 2 years at the renowned Hans Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where I studied with Professor Maria Graf. I was the first harpist ever to be admitted to the prestigious ‘Konzertexam’, a two-year master’s program for a select group. Within this group I was chosen to graduate with a solo concerto with the Berliner Symphony Orchester and awarded with the highest distinction.
The Hochschule für Musik also nominated me as a scholarship recipient for the International Forum for Culture and Economy in Dresden, for which I gave several solo recitals.
I participated in numerous national and international competitions and won several prices. In the Netherlands I won first prize at the National Harp Competition (1997) and at the Vriendenkrans of the Concertgebouw (2000). I am as well a prizewinner at the International Harp Competition in Bloomington (USA), Rome (Italy), Jerusalem (Israel) and Deauville (France)
I performed as a soloist and chamber musician at many festivals and concerts in the Netherlands and abroad, for example at the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam, the Festivale de Musique in Sancerre, the World Harp Congress in Copenhagen and in Geneva and at the Salzburger Festspiele.
As a soloist with orchestra I performed harp concerto’s with De Nederlandse Cantorij, the Symphony Orchestra of The Hague, the Orchestra del Sessione Senese Musicale, the Berliner Symphonie Orchester and the Saarländische Rundfunk Orchester.
From a young age I have been interested in contemporary music and worked together with composers. I performed many premieres of new music and several composers have written and dedicated compositions to me.
Besides my interest in contemporary music I have been actively involved in the authentic performance practice. I studied the Arpa Doppia with Hannelore Devaere and Christina Pluhar and performed with various early music ensembles. I also studied Viola da Gamba with Anneke Pols at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague for several years.
I have given chamber music concerts in The Netherlands and abroad with prominent ensembles and fellow musicians, such as the Judaicum ensemble, the ROSA ensemble, the Obligat ensemble from Hamburg, the Eos ensemble from Berlin, the Nieuw Ensemble from Amsterdam, the Asko/Schönberg ensemble from Amsterdam, the Xenaxis ensemble from Middelburg, Insomnio from Utrecht, the Prometheus Ensemble from Belgium, and I formed a duo with the singer Julia Bronkhorst for many years.
My orchestral career began at a young age as a solo harpist with the Jeugd Orkest Nederland, the Nationaal Jeugdorkest and the Schleswig Holstein International Youth Orchestra. As a professional harpist, I have performed with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rundfunk Orchester Berlin, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin and the Malaysian Syphonie Orchestra from Kuala Lumpur.
Since 2004 I have been the Principal Harpist of the Symphony Orchestra of The Hague. Highlights of my career as a Solo Harpist of the Residentie Orkest are the performances as a soloist with the orchestra, the chamber music concerts in the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague, the concerts and live TV broadcasts during the Festival Classique, the tours to Eastern Europe, Germany, France, China and the Canary Islands, the performances together with NDT and the operas with DNO. A special memory is the performance and TV broadcast of the private concert in honour of Queen Beatrix’ 25 year royal jubilee at Palace Noordeinde (2005).
In these contexts I have worked with famous conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Neëme Järvi, Claus Peter Flor, Edo de Waart, Ingo Metzmmacher, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Marc Soustrot, Reinbert de Leeuw, Alexander Lazarev, Mstislav Rostropovich, Günther Herbig and many others.
As a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra musician and as a soloist with orchestra I can be heard on several CDs
Having a stable base as an orchestra harpist I started to explore my inner talents beyond the musical world. Following my calling to also start sharing my spiritual experiences, I did several yoga and qigong teacher trainings and coaching trainings. In addition I studied Ancient Healing with Rahul Bharti from Nepal who initiated me into the healing and transformative powers of Thai Yoga Massage, Reiki and Tibetan Singing bowl massage and helped me professionalize my intuitive skills.
Fifteen years ago I also fell passionately in love with Argentine tango, travelled to Buenos Aires and all over Europe to dance and founded my own tango school in Amsterdam. The conscious tango method I based on heart-connection and subtle energy exchange is well respected and beloved by thousands of students.
All that experience and training has given me a unique skill set that I love using to create magical musical experiences for others, whether it be at classical concerts, private events, conscious festivals, retreats or weddings. Up to today I love learning new skills and keep on growing. The last years I have dedicated myself to learn to improvise and play more intuitively, performing together with musicians at conscious festivals and events playing spiritual music, medicine music and world music. Incorporating everything that inspired me and made me grow as an artist and human being on my life path, I composed the ‘Meditative harp concerts’, combining guided meditation, deep relaxation, sound journey and meditative music. These Meditative harp concerts bring my audience in a state of deep relaxation and reconnection with the love and light within and are in great demand.
I have also created a method called The Reconnection Journey, where I use my skills as a certified harp therapist, sound healer, bodyworker and life coach to support people to reconnect with their body, heart and soul so they can rediscover the wholeness that lies within and unveil their authentic self.
It’s a unique blend of techniques such as Harp Therapy, sound healing, Tibetan singing bowl massage, holistic pulsing massage, guided visualization and meditation, that helps clients to relax their nervous system, release blocked emotions, liberate from limiting beliefs, strengthen their intuition and regain inspiration.
Teaching is my second biggest passion and I have 35 year long experience teaching the harp. Besides my 2 year long teacher education at the conservatory I have attended many teacher trainings from yoga, qigong and dance expression to ancient healing practices like reiki and Tibetan singing bowl massages. As a teacher, I serve people who are yearning for a way to communicate music through the harp. I am dedicated to help students to develop and craft their technique and musicianship and their unique musical personality. I incorporate my body awareness and mindfulness experience in my teaching to help students to play their instrument in the most comfortable and natural way and to learn them how to easily diagnose trouble spots and build consistent solutions in the music.
