Cynthia Freivogel

Baroque violin

Maxine Eilander plays on a range of Renaissance, Baroque and Classical harps. Maxine has had a thirty-year career performing on historical harps throughout Europe and the USA.

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. 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 the 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. She has recently been working on a project of harp and violin music by the early 19th century harpist and composer Zoé de la Rüe with violinist Tekla Cunningham.

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). Maxine is a passionate teacher with over 30 years experience, and is adjunct professor of historical harps at the Thornton School of Music, USC. She has also been invited to introduce the baroque harp to the students at The Juilliard School in New York. She teaches from her home studio in California (proteamusic.com), as well as via online Zoom lessons.