Mexico International Harp Competition and Festival
to develop yourself as an excellent harpist
harpist of all nationalities
Intermediate, Advanced, Young Professional
”High-Performance Harpists in Action”
to promote the harp’s role as a soloist
Mexico International Harp Competition and Festival 2026
October 17 to 25, 2026 Mexico City
Register before August 16, 2026
Members of the jury
Isabelle Perrin, France President of the Jury
Harpist & Pedagogue. World-renowned French harpist Isabelle Perrin is an internationally acclaimed soloist, recording artist, and pedagogue. She completed her studies at the Conservatoire National de Région de Nice and The Juilliard School in New York. Perrin has served as Co-Principal Harpist of the Orchestre National de France and taught at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges Musikkhøgskole). She also served as Artistic Director of the World Harp Congress. A knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) and an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, she is regularly invited to give masterclasses and judge major international harp competitions worldwide.
Elzbieta Szmyt, Poland-USA
Harpist & Pedagogue. Elżbieta Szmyt is an internationally recognized Polish harpist and distinguished pedagogue. She earned Master’s degrees in Harp Performance and Music Theory from the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, as well as a Master’s degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the mentorship of Susann McDonald. She currently serves as Professor of Music and Chair of the Harp Department at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where she also directs the Summer Harp Academy. Szmyt has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player across Europe, North America, and Asia, and regularly conducts masterclasses and serves on juries for major international harp competitions worldwide.
Kaori Otake, Canada-Japan
Harpist & Pedagogue.  Internationally acclaimed harpist Kaori Otake has established a distinguished global career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. An alumna of prestigious institutions including The Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, and Indiana University, she has performed solo recitals and concerto engagements with major ensembles worldwide. She served on the Host Committee and chaired the Master Class Committee for the 11th World Harp Congress in Vancouver, and has taught at Capilano University and the North Shore Conservatory of Music. Otake is regularly invited to perform, conduct masterclasses, and serve on international competition juries, including the Soka-Nippon International Harp Competition.
Carolyn Sykes, Australia-USA
Australian harpist Carolyn Sykes has been performing in Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States for the past 40 years. She came to Los Angeles 31 years ago to study for her Masters Degree at the California Institute of the Arts. Since then she has established her private teaching and performing studio Pacific Harps, a boutique music booking agency Music For Events, and the West Coast harp dealership for Camac Harps. She performs free-lance in orchestras, as a soloist on concert stages, for film and television recording and for special events both locally and abroad. She has directed the Harp Glen Ensemble for the St Andrew’s Society and performs for the society regularly. 4 years ago she bought a house in Guadalajara. She now participates in the vibrant music scene in Mexico and has extended her harp business there, dividing her time between Los Angles and Guadalajara.
Dulce María Escudero Pérez, Mexico
She studied at the National School of Music and continued her studies at the Ollin Yoliztli School of Advanced Studies. Dulce María’s career has focused primarily on orchestral music, working with the country’s leading orchestras. She served as harpist for thirty years with the Guanajuato University Symphony Orchestra . She has also devoted part of her professional career to duets and chamber music ensembles, performing in numerous concerts in Mexico City and Guanajuato.
Miyabi Matsuoka, Japan
Miyabi is a Japanese harpist and therapist, founder of the MIYABI METHOD Music Academy, who developed an original approach combining music with psychology to nurture music therapists worldwide. She graduated from the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna studying under Anneleen Lenaerts. She has performed concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. As a soloist, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, and Oxford University’s Sheldonian Theatre. She won First Prize at the Bach and Debussy International Competitions and was a prizewinner at the USA International Harp Competition and a Top 3 finalist at the Geneva International Music Competition (CIEM). She was a jury member at the Basel International Music Competition in Switzerland in 2025. Her textbook for harp on classical music expression will be published by YAMAHA in 2027, based on her research across 30 European countries.
Eduardo Barreda Castorena, Mexico
Eduardo Barreda Castorena is a Mexican musician, conductor, singer, and musicologist with a career spanning more than 40 years, beginning in 1978. He has professional training in voice, choral conducting, orchestral conducting, and musicology. He has held important positions, such as associate director of the INBAL School of Lute Making and coordinator of the Esperanza Azteca Symphony Orchestras, where he oversaw more than 45 children’s and youth ensembles. He has also worked in music production, film, television, research, and cultural management, collaborating with international artists such as Valery Gergiev, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, and Paquito D’Rivera. He is the founder and artistic director of La Galatea, which specializes in early music and the New Spain repertoire, and of Voz & Tonic. With his ensembles, he has performed works ranging from the European Renaissance and Baroque periods to the music of the Ibero-American viceroyalty, appearing on major stages throughout Mexico and collaborating with international musicians and ensembles.
Sponsors
Competitors 2026
Young Professional Division:
Betuel Ramírez Velasco
Mexico
Camilo Crispoca
Colombia
Emanuel Elí Lara Soto
Mexico
Evelyn Theinert
USA-Germany
Joost Willemze
Netherlands
Kevin Zabdiel Zapo Hurtado
Mexico
María de Jesús Contreras
USA
Sariah Flores
Mexico
Theresa Labuda
USA
Advanced Division:
Anne Sabine Reynolds
USA
Arely Velasco
Mexico
Frida Alanís Ramírez
Mexico
Marlies de Lange Holand
Costa Rica
Miguel Jiménez Govea
Mexico
Minja Stojanović
Republic of Serbia
Nishdao Juárez Zavala
Mexico
Róise Ní Laoire
Ireland
Intermediate Division:
Adaleigh Hellman
USA
Fatima Velazquez Mosqueda
Mexico
Karla Alfaro Flores
Mexico
Kelly Yang
USA
Paula Hernandez Ponce
Mexico
Paula Valeria Lara
Mexico
Sebastián Ladrón de Guevara
Mexico
Sofía Martínez Jimenez
Mexico
Valeria Sánchez
Mexico
Victoria Nirvana Martínez
Mexico
Junior Division:
Aryana Lall
USA
Catalina Rabago Beltrán y Puga
Mexico
Emma Sarang Wong
Canada-Korea
María Escudero Álvarez
Mexico
Marián Escudero Álvarez
Mexico
Nicole Isabella Domin
USA
Thea Watkins
USA
Announcements
Mexican works composed for the competition
Junior Division
Pavorreales en los Jardines de México
Santiago di Morales
Intermediate Division
Mar Imparable
Sarah Mendoz
Professional Division
Uklith Huasteca
Baltazar Juárez
Participate
The Mexico National Symphony Orchestra
will accompany the finalists of the Young Professional Division.
Ollin Yoliztli Youth Symphony Orchestra (OSJOY)
from the school of Music of Live and Movement will accompany the finalists of the Advanced Division.
Accompanying soloists for the Advanced Division final
Rodrigo Cortez López
Distinguished Mexican flutist from Zacatecas, whose artistic career has been shaped by a solid musical education, remarkable orchestral experience, and an early vocation for musical excellence. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with an emphasis in Flute Performance from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas and currently serves as Principal Associate Flutist of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, a position he has held since 2023. Previously, he was Principal Flutist of the San Luis Potosí Symphony Orchestra (2015–2022), and he has performed as a guest flutist with several professional orchestras, including the Minería Symphony Orchestra. His career as a soloist has earned recognition on both national and international stages. Among his most recent distinctions are First Place at the 2025 CIFMEX International Solo Flute Competition in Xalapa, Veracruz, as well as First Prize at the VIII International Flute Academy of Villa de Leyva, Colombia, in 2015. These achievements add to a competitive career that began in childhood, when he earned first prizes in important national flute competitions. From his earliest years, Rodrigo has envisioned music as a space for connection, discipline, and transformation. His participation in Mexico’s National Children’s and Youth Symphony Orchestra, with which he toured extensively throughout Mexico and abroad, marked the beginning of a journey that would later lead him to participate in world premieres, international projects, and advanced artistic training. His career brings together the roles of performer, soloist, orchestral musician, and educator, shaping an ever-evolving artistic path guided by the pursuit of authentic musical expression and by a desire to bring the flute into new realms of sensitivity, excellence, and creativity.
José Manuel Canché Chan (Mérida, Yucatán, 1993)
Bachelor of Music in Flute from the Carlos Chávez School Orchestra of the National System for the Promotion of Music. He won first place in the "Rubén Islas” National Flute Competition (2015) and has served as a guest flutist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and the Yucatán Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the INJUVE Symphony Orchestra and collaborated with the UCLA Orchestra in Los Angeles, California. He has performed as a soloist in various states throughout Mexico. In the field of chamber music, he is a member of the Aulós Trio (flute and piano) and is the founder of Hypnosis Estudio, a project featuring live chamber music concerts. At the same time, he is deeply involved in teaching: he is an orchestra conductor and instructor in the Esperanza Azteca program (IMSS) and a professor at the undergraduate level at theTultepec School of Fine Arts.
Organization
Baltazar Juárez
Founder and Artistic Director
“For me, it’s an honor to continue pursuing this project. We’re on our seventh edition! I will always be grateful to all those who support this great artistic endeavor.”
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