MAXINE EILANDER

Maxine Eilander was born in Deventer, Holland, and grew up in South Africa. There she earned her Bachelor of Music on the classical harp at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1992. Her special interest in early music led her to further study at the Hochschule für Kunste in Bremen, Germany. She completed her post graduate diploma in early harps and continuo practise there in 1997. Since then she has appeared as a continuo player and soloist with many ensembles including Teatro Lirico, Tragicomedia, Les Talens Lyriques, Tafelmusik, The Toronto Consort, Les Voix Humaines, The Sixteen, Seattle Baroque, La Stagione Franfurt and Mala Punica. She has appeared around the world in productions of Monteverdi’s three operas (L’Orfeo, L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse): Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Hamburg, etc.

Maxine plays on a range of specialised early harps: the Italian arpa doppia, the Spanish cross-strung harp, the German ‘Davidsharfe’, the Welsh triple harp for which Handel wrote his harp concerto, and the classical single action pedal harp.
There is an increasing list of recordings featuring her as a soloist - Handel’s harp concerto with Tafelmusik (A Baroque Feast, Analekta, 2002), Ay que si, Spanish 17th century music with Les Voix Humaines (ATMA, 2002), Sonata al Pizzico, a new recording of Italian music for harp and baroque guitar with duo partner Stephen Stubbs (ATMA 2004), and a recording with Teatro Lirico to be released on the ECM label in 2004. Other recordings include: Scarlatti’s oratorio Hagar and Ishmael, with Seattle Baroque (Centaur, 2003), and Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine, with Tragicomedia (ATMA, 2002). Maxine is the managing director of the Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera.