First Prize: Noël Wan

by Elizabeth Jaxon

The first prize of the First International Harp Competition in the Netherlands was awarded to Noël Wan - 16 years old, from the USA.


(Photo credit of Rob Becker)

This is a great victory for Noël, who has been fighting her way through the competition circuit for several years now. I remember seeing her win the junior division of the American Harp Society National Competition in 2005, and then I met her again in Israel last October, where she made it to the semi-final round. Her approach to competitions has changed somewhat since then. "In Israel, I focused a lot more on technique and being accurate," she explains, "and my focus was more on the competition rather than on enjoying the experience. This time [my goal] was to enjoy the experience, to meet people, and to enjoy the Forgotten Lore, because I really like that piece!" She originally committed to preparing the competition in the Netherlands when it was only in its earliest stages of conception, before she even knew what prizes were offered. "Initially I just prepared for this competition to be a part of it and to support Remy and to support the organization in general." She thought it would be a good way to gain experience doing competitions of multiple stages and to have the chance to work with a singer.

Perhaps Noël's victory this time could be partially attributed to her slightly more laid-back attitude. However, she has also made several conscious changes to her playing in preparation for this competition. Since Israel, she has worked on expanding her tone by pressing the strings more when she plays. She has also adopted the habit of dipping her fingers in warm water right before performing, to soften the callouses on her fingers and improve her sound. To improve her stage presence, Noël says that she took lessons on "holding myself, being more positive and open, and not withdrawing myself from the audience." Clearly it worked!


(Photo credit of Nike Martens)

Though first prize is a great honor, there is no rest for the winner. After only three hours of sleep the night after the finals, Noël had to be up for a live radio performance in Amsterdam at ten o'clock Sunday morning, for the programme AVRO's Spiegelzaal on Dutch Radio 4. When Remy and I arrived to support her, we found her tuning and warming up.


(All following photos credit of Elizabeth Jaxon)

The lively and endearing radio host, Hans van den Boom, invited Remy up to the microphone for a brief conversation about the harp festival, before introducing Noël, who played her encore from final stage: Secret Garden by Peter van Onna.



Immediately following the radio performance, we drove back to Utrecht, with the harp, Noël, and her mother (who has been here with Noël the whole week). We got Noël back just in time for a dress rehearsal with the Utrecht Conservatory Symphony Orchestra in preparation for another performance of the Ginastera concerto that afternoon.



She was understandably exhausted by the time it was all over and I pinned her down for one last interview. What does it take to get this far so fast? I figured that aspiring young harpists would be curious to know her secret. It seems that the keys to Noël's success story are her dedication and the support of her mother and teachers.

Noël lives in San Jose, California with her mother, father, and two cats. Her older sister Joy, who also was a very gifted harpist herself, now studies molecular biology at Princeton University. Noël attended a private Christian elementary school but has been homeschooled since sixth grade. Since she is able to complete her school work on her own schedule, she is able to practice the harp five hours a day, which would be impossible if she attended a normal high school. She studied with Dan Yu, first Chinese harpist to win the International Harp Competition in the USA, until Dan moved back to China, but they continue to hold weekly lessons over the internet. Noël also comes to Amsterdam several times a year, for three weeks at a time, to study with Erika Waardenburg. She hopes to start college this coming fall, pending a scholarship. Though she has not technically completed high school, she was accepted to the University of Illinois, where she will study with Ann Yeung

I know Noël has not always been certain of whether or not she wants to continue dedicating her life exclusively to the harp, but now that she is entering the spotlight and has upcoming performance engagements as the gold medalist of the Netherlands competition, I asked her if she's feeling ready to take on the responsibility. Though she still sounds undecided, she said that she was looking forward to being exposed to different genres of music in college, such as chamber and orchestral. "I'm also interested in studying languages, especially Dutch, French and German, but East Asian languages would be easier, since I'm Chinese. But of course I will always like to perform for people."

With so much talent already yet so much time left to grow, Noël could go anywhere from here. I wish her luck.