Maxine Eilander

Baroque harp

Maxine Eilander plays on a range of specialized Baroque and classical harps. She has most recently started working on a project of harp and violin music by little known female composers of the Classical and Romantic with violinist Tekla Cunningham.

Born in The Netherlands, Maxine grew up in South Africa, where she earned her Bachelor of Music on the classical harp. Her special interest in early music led her to further study at the Hochschule für Kunste in Bremen, Germany, where she completed her post-graduate diploma in early harps and continuo (accompaniment) practice. Since then she has appeared as a soloist with many leading ensembles including Tragicomedia and Tafelmusik, and regularly appears in the opera and chamber opera productions of the Boston Early Music Festival as well as being regular harpist for Seattle’s Pacific MusicWorks. Maxine has performed at numerous opera houses and festivals including the Covent Garden Festival, Staatstheater Stuttgart and Netherlands Opera, playing continuo in productions of various baroque operas and chamber music. In 2012 Maxine was invited to perform Handel’s Harp Concerto at the World Harp Congress in Vancouver.

Recordings featuring Maxine as a soloist include Handel’s Harp, released on ATMA, with all of Handel’s obligato music written for the harp, including his famous harp concerto, which she has also recorded with Tafelmusik (A Baroque Feast, Analekta). The release of William Lawes’ Harp Consorts on ATMA garnered much favorable press, including five stars from Goldberg Magazine. Other recordings include: Sonata al Pizzico, a recording of Italian music for harp and baroque guitar with duo partner Stephen Stubbs (ATMA) and Teatro Lirico released on the ECM label.

Maxine teaches in her home studio in Santa Clarita, California, as well as through online Zoom sessions.