Help us through these bizarre times! Many thanks also on behalf of the musicians!

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11/03/2020

The concert The Voice on a Journey WILL GO ON as planned. As the -no more than 30 people per concert- measure takes effect again the concert will, as previously announced, take place TWICE. on the same day.This is to give more people the opportunity to attend the concert and to cover some of the financial ramifications. Both concerts will be without intermission and will last approximately 75 minutes. The first concert starts at 5:00 PM and the second concert
at 8:00 PM.

Also, for this concert the regular entrance fee will apply, as we temporarily will have to cancel the pre-sale discount. Reservations via the site are mandatory and wearing a mask are mandatory during the entire concert. We sincerely hope for your understanding!

The Board Foundation Vriendenconcerten

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Dear Music Friends:

At the time of this writing, the whole world is still fixated by the horrors caused by a persistent vicious little invisible speck. It is as if a horror movie has suddenly come to life. The little speck does not discriminate and the havoc that it wreaks in terms of health, and economics too, is overwhelming. The crisis forces us to stop and ponder meaningful questions.

What role does music play in our lives? Listening to music can be just entertainment, or it can be an escape from our busy lives. But music can also provide relief and comfort. It can take us into a world of beauty, lift us from our daily lives. Music as a balm for the soul…

Naturally you can play a CD at home or listen to music via internet media. But of course, that is not comparable to the experience you get live in a concert hall. The intensity and intimacy of live music, the impact of the sound that comes directly at you instead of from loudspeakers, the invisible bond that is spun between performers and audience, etc. etc. Every concert is different anew. The atmosphere of expectation, the feeling that this is a one-off event that you cannot put on repeat like you can with a CD. It is something magical!

As a musician we are privileged. We can lose ourselves in our music and we can touch others by sharing it. For me, the one cannot exist without the other. The value of music cannot be expressed in an Excel spreadsheet with a profit and loss accounting. Although the subject of finances opens a can of worms that I prefer not to mention here…

I am grateful that the series has been running for so many years - and trending with upward growth. I’m grateful for so many people involved around me, people who work very hard and think along with me to make my crazy and sometimes grand plans possible. Grateful, because 2019/2020 ran so fantastically well until the lockdown and hopeful that we can continue this upward line with so much warm public interest. And above all I am very happy that I succeeded once again to organize a new season of special, diverse concerts together with a colourful group of international en national super-musicians. I’m so curious to find out what you think! And hope you will keep coming (again and again)!!

Pamela Smits

Cellist and Artistic Director Foundation Vriendenconcerten