The second Dutch Harp Festival will soon take place in Utrecht, between March 27th and April 1st. As with the festival's first edition in 2010, it offers a dynamic concert programme, a high-level international competition, excellent communications and some really nice, innovative touches. One such touch is March 27th's evening concert: Real Men Play The Harp. Emmanuel Ceysson, Remy van Kesteren and Andreas Mildner will perform harp concertos by Renié, Schaffer and van Oosten with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, conducted by Johannes Leertouwer. The concert's title says it all: musically and visually, the idea is to blow apart some of the strongest stereotypes that hang like a millstone around the harp's gilded neck.
The festival has devised a very clever, creative way of appealing for sponsors of this concert. It has constructed a scale of sponsorship, and offers something in return for your help - from tickets to concerts and masterclasses during the festival, to a private lesson with Petra van der Heide or an exclusive recital by festival artistic director Remy himself. Find out more on the Real Men Play The Harp project page.
Incentive sponsorship's a fine idea - why not offer people kind enough to sponsor you something in return? - and this is a great example of it. The rewards are attractive; the financial scale is realistic, starting at €10 (prizes from €25). Like funding platforms like Kickstarter, the sponsorship project has a time-limit: there are thirty-seven days left to reach the target of €12,500. If 200 people donate €50, they'll reach their goal. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so here.
(P.S: yes, we have sponsored it!)
