Danielle Riegel is an internationally acclaimed concert harpist and versatile artist who will be bringing some interesting collaborations and concerts to the Algarve in the coming months.
Danielle was drawn to the arts from an early age. At 12, she was admitted to the young talent department of the Royal Conservatory (Netherlands), which marked the beginning of a successful international career as a soloist, chamber musician and principal orchestra harpist. As well as winning several major national and international harp competitions, Danielle has performed with renowned musicians and maestros at prestigious music festivals and concert halls in cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, Paris and Madrid. For 15 years, she served as the principal harpist of the Symphony Orchestra of The Hague. Her performances have been broadcast several times on Dutch National Television, and she had the honour of performing for Queen Beatrix at her 50th jubilee in the royal palace.
In 2020, Danielle moved to the Algarve to become one of the few professional harp players in the region. In 2022 and 2023, she performed as a soloist and alongside soprano Carla Pontes at the Algarve Harp Festival. Recent collaborations include touring with the well-known singer-songwriter Ayla Schafer, starting with a concert in Teatro Maria Matos on 24 September and followed by concerts in Amsterdam and Antwerp.
“I know my life has been quite different than most people’s, from dedicating myself to daily music practices from an early age while at the same time developing my other talents and passions like yoga, qigong, coaching, healing methods and dancing. I founded and led a big Argentine tango school in Amsterdam for many years.”
All this experience and training has given her a unique skill set, which led her to explore new ways to express her talents when she relocated to Portugal. She created a new concept: Meditative Harp concerts, where she guides people on a two-hour ceremonial recital, combining a relaxing and releasing sound journey with a heart-opening concert.
Danielle has also created a method called The Reconnection Journey, in which she combines her expertise as a certified harp therapist, sound healer, bodyworker and life coach to help people reconnect with their bodies, hearts and souls to rediscover the wholeness within themselves.
Besides her personal projects, she performs regularly at events and weddings in the Algarve.
On 4 October, she will play at the beautiful Paxa Winery near Silves at the Arabian Nights at Sunset event, which combines a gourmet dinner, a wine tasting, harp music and aerial performances.
Then, on 5 October, Danielle will give a concert at the Songbird amphitheatre near Loulé. She says, “This is a gorgeous place in the mountains and a wonderful initiative by Ralph Vogelsang to bring the community and music lovers together to enjoy an evening with music, shared food and connections. It’s the perfect setting for an evening with romantic harp music in different styles, starting with pieces known from the movies Amilie and Les Intouchables by neo-classical composer Ludovico Einaudi, Yiruma and Yann Tierssen, and followed by some famous jazz standards and love ballads.”
Danielle is also booked for a concert in November in the newly opened The Seed, in Lagos – a yoga, wellness and co-working hub. She is also in the process of making a recording of music by Ludovico Einaudi.
Despite her busy professional schedule, Danielle has found time to make beautiful music in another area of her life. She got married this year and is now fully committed to settling in Lagos.