about

Stef Van Vynckt is a young Belgian harpist specialising in contemporary classical music. Stef is founder of the up-and-coming chamber music ensemble EMC - Extended Music Collective, and has worked closely with leading contemporary composers to further expand the harp repertoire in works that showcase both the delicate side of the harp we are accustomed to, as well as the lesser explored and at times abrasive possibilities that the instrument can possess. Amongst the many collaborations he has been involved in in recent years, he has worked with and premiered pieces by Dai Fujikura, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Jason Eckardt, Maja Bosnic, Baldwin Giang, Kalaisan Kalaichelvan, Lise Morrison, David Fennessy, Frank Nuyts and others. In 2022 Stef co-founded Inland Ocean, an international cooperative of performance artists.

Stef is regularly invited to perform with leading ensembles within the contemporary music field. In 2023 he joined Ensemble Modern in the premiere of Blühen, an opera by Vito Zuraj and has joined them on multiple occasions since.
He performed at several festivals and venues such as Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival in New York (US), LOUD Weekend at MASS MoCA (US), Classical:NEXT 2024 (DE), cresc... Biennale für aktuelle Musik (DE), SoundSCAPE Festival (CH), Darmstädter Ferienkurse (DE), Klarafestival Young artists in the city (BE), Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (CA), Korzo (NL), Muziektheater Transparant Antwerp (BE), Ha Concerts Ghent (BE), BOS! Festival (BE), Bockenheimer Depot (DE), Alte Oper Frankfurt (DE).

Future projects include collaborations with Christopher Cerrone, Heleen Van Haegenborgh, Alexander Schubert, Elena Rykova, John Supko, Alireza Farhang e.a.
​
He was invited for the inaugural Young Ensemble Academy set up by Ensemble Modern (DE), as well as residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (CA) in both 2023 and 2024. In July 2024 he got invited for a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute (US) as well as the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA (US) and the Ensemble Recherche Academy in Freiburg im Breisgau (DE). In 2025 he was invited to residencies at SoundSCAPE Festival (CH) and Darmstädter Ferienkurse (DE), as well as being selected as a Britten Pears Young Artist.
​
Stef studied at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent with Arielle Valibouse before continuing his education at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Sylvain Blassel and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels for a postgraduate in chamber music..