Camac Blog
From Mouzeil to Osaka: A New Harp for Mai Fukui
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July 18, 2025
Following her hugely successful Carnegie Hall Debut in April, we were delighted this week to see some lovely pictures of our dear friend, Mai Fukui, performing in her homeland of Japan.
Mai Fukui and her beautiful new Elysée concert harp
What made it especially heartwarming for us was that Mai was using her brand-new Elysée concert harp for these concerts. In recent solo performances and in duos with the eminent contrabass player, Ryutaro Hei, the sound of Mai’s stunning harp has filled some of the finest concert halls in Japan:
“The harp travelled all the way from Paris via Mouzeil to Japan this Spring, and I have already performed with that harp at major concerts in Tokyo Oji Hall and Osaka Izumi Hall.” Mai tells us. “Both are renowned halls for classical music in Japan. My Elysée sounded gorgeous on stage, and both concerts were considered great successes.”
©Tomoaki Hikawa
As any harpist will tell you, sometimes a certain harp (or model) really ‘speaks to you’. Furthermore, the process of investing in a top-quality concert harp is a journey in itself. After having the opportunity to perform on an Elysée at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, Mai felt that a seed had been sown: “I got a chance to perform on the Elysée model for the first time in 2017, during the World Harp Congress held in Hong Kong. Since that moment, I have completely fallen in love with the bright sound in the higher register and the rich, warm sound filled with colours in the middle and lower register.”
Of course, we had the honour of hearing Mai give her first big recital on this harp, because (with flutist, Kazunori Seo) she honoured us with a fabulous concert of French masterpieces at our Paris venue, just a matter of days after she had picked it out. She was able to make her choice from a number of our finest concert harps, carefully selected by Eric Piron and the Camac team.
Mai debuts her harp in Paris, Spring-2025
Mai’s new harp encapsulates what brings us such pride and satisfaction in our work, that is simply furnishing an artist with their ideal instrument: “I am very much satisfied with my new harp! I would like to thank Jakez and Eric, to all the Camac Team, all the kind-hearted staff members, and the amazing manufacturer for supporting and letting me select the best model among many models of yours. Your shipment and delivery to my home were also excellent, as they went so smoothly.
“I will continue to perform with Elysée for many years to come!”
Nothing could give us greater joy.
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