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