Anneleen Schuitemaker is a versatile harpist with a passion for both orchestral and chamber music. Since August 2020, she has held a permanent position with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. With this orchestra—and in other professional contexts—she has performed in numerous countries across and beyond Europe. In addition to her performing career, she has also been teaching orchestral harp playing at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam since September 2023.
Anneleen began her musical journey at the age of ten at the local music school in Katwijk aan Zee, her hometown. In 2010, she was admitted to the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she studied with Erika Waardenburg and completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
During her studies, Anneleen developed a strong passion for orchestral performance and chose to specialize further in this field. From 2015 to 2019, she was part of orchestral academies at two renowned German opera orchestras: two years with the Staatskapelle Berlin, followed by a two-year academy program with the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.
Anneleen is regularly invited as a guest player with leading orchestras in the Netherlands and abroad. She has performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, among others.
In addition to her orchestral engagements, Anneleen is active as a soloist. She recently performed Debussy’s harp concerto with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, and in 2023 she presented part of this work three times with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer, in the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw.
Anneleen has received several awards, including first prize and the audience award at the Rosa Spier Harp Competition (2011), and first prize at the 5th International Harp Competition in Sandstedt, Germany (2014).
She is also active in chamber music, performing with a wide variety of ensembles. She is a member of RCO Camerata, the chamber music ensemble of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and has been part of the Borealis Trio (flute, violin, and harp) since 2011. The trio won second prize at the Tristan Keuris Chamber Music Competition in 2012 and was affiliated with the Live Music Now foundation from 2014 to 2018. Anneleen also forms a regular duo with trombonist Jeffrey Kant, principal trombonist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.
Anneleen plays a Lyon & Healy Style 23 Concert Harp (Bronze), generously loaned to her by the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds (Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation).