Maxine Eilander

Maxine Eilander serves as an Adjunct Instructor of historical harps at the USC Thornton School of Music, maintaining an active dual career as both educator and performer. Based in Santa Clarita, California, she teaches private lessons in her home studio and via online Zoom sessions while performing globally as harpist for Pacific MusicWorks and the Boston Early Music Festival across a thirty-year international career spanning Europe and the USA.

Her academic foundation includes a Bachelor of Music in classical harp from the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa) and a post-graduate diploma in early harps and continuo practice from Hochschule für Kunste (Bremen, Germany).

Eilander's research centers on historical performance practice of Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical harps, with specialized focus on continuo technique and the revival of neglected works. Her current collaborative project with violinist Tekla Cunningham explores harp-violin repertoire by female composers of the Classical and Romantic periods, addressing historical gender imbalances in early music scholarship.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent engagement with Baroque opera (Handel, Steffani, Conradi), 17th-century vocal repertoire, and innovative editions of historical works. Her output demonstrates methodological rigor in historical authenticity while expanding accessibility through modern publications via Proteamusic.com.

Eilander's artistic excellence is recognized through prestigious nominations including a Grammy Award for Conradi’s Ariadne (2005) and Juno Award for Handel’s harp concerto with Tafelmusik (2002), reflecting significant contributions to early music preservation.

Through ongoing collaborations with Stephen Stubbs on publishing initiatives and performances with ensembles like Tragicomedia and Tafelmusik, she actively shapes contemporary discourse in historical performance practice while mentoring emerging musicians through her USC and private studio instruction.