Artist in residence 2022 at the Dutch festivals Gaudeamus ("Nieuwe Noten") and Dag in de Branding, Michela Amici loves to explore spatial and theatrical aspects in her performances. Her inspiration often lies in architecture and scenography. Performing on bray harp, baroque triple harp and pedal harp, her repertoire combines renaissance and baroque works with new compositions.

 

Founder and artistic leader of the contemporary music harp-sextet "Harp Sirens", Michela collaborates  with composers and sound designers of her generation. Her latest project explores a new idiomatic voice on the baroque harp that merges historical and contemporary influences. Her recent performances include international festivals such as Dutch Harp Festival, Gaudeamus, November Music, Grachten Festival, Dag in de Branding, Nieuwe Noten Amsterdam, Klangspuren Schwaz, Opera Forward Festival, and the Dutch radio NPO4. In 2021 Michela recorded for Festival for Compassion the piece “Thin Air” by Calliope Tsoupaki and in 2022 she released her debut album as soloist and in duo with mezzo-soprano Georgia Burahsko.

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Michela received her harp Diploma in 2013 and harp Master in 2015 cum laude at the Conservatory G. Rossini of Pesaro in Italy, and completed in 2018 a Master Specialization in "new audiences and innovative practices" at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she studied harp with Ernestine Stoop and focused on contemporary music performance practice. Moreover, she performs on the Italian three-rows baroque harp and specialized in historically informed performance practice with Christina Pluhar at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

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In addition to her music studies, Michela also completed in 2014 a Master in Architecture cum laude at the University of Bologna in Italy, with a dissertation on architectural preservation, and has worked as assistant designer for the dutch firm Braaksma & Roos Architecten .

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Michela plays on a Cellini baroque harp built by Rainer M. Thurau Studio for Applied Arts, made possible with the kind support of Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument; a renaissance bray harp built by Eric Kleinmann; and plays on a Lyon&Healy style 100 pedal harp.