Anouk is a versatile musician who, after her conservatory (classical pedal harp), fully specialized in the folk harp (also called Celtic or lever harp).
Her repertoire includes traditional music from many European cultures, such as Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, the Balkans and Sweden. And although Dutch music is often forgotten or ignored, Anouk’s interest in traditional European music led her to discover the roots of Dutch folk music. Since then, she has become the first professional harpist to record a complete album of traditional Dutch music arranged for the folk harp. She also published two books with arrangements of Dutch folk music for the folk harp.
Anouk is a popular teacher both at home and abroad. She has taught in Scotland (Edinburgh International Harp Festival), Sweden (Nordic Harp Meeting), Germany (Harfen in Swabia & Harfentreffen), England (Harps on Wright), Italy and Belgium (Flanders Celtic Harp Meeting). The subjects she teaches range from Dutch folk to playing by ear and therapeutic harp playing.
Anouk has been playing for elderly people with dementia since she was 12. In order to specialize more, she followed the training of the International Harp Therapy Program (IHTP) and was one of the first Dutch harpists to do so. Since then she has worked with the elderly (somatics and psychogeriatrics), but also with the disabled and in hospice. She worked as a senior musician for the MuzIC Foundation (until 2024) in the intensive care units of various hospitals. This foundation tries to limit the impact of an ICU admission on the patient and his/her family, by providing musical encounters for ICU patients.