Leeuwarden has a lot to offer for culture lovers, and from the 27th through the 30th of June, that will include the CityProms, the biggest classical music festival in the North of The Netherlands – and it’s free of charge.
Translation by Hans De Preter
International, national and Frisian classical top musicians participate in the CityProms festival each year. This editions’ theme is “Borders Blur”, which refers not only to national borders, but also to the borders between amateur musicians and professionals that are blurring as youth orchestras and local orchestras provide a breeding ground for top talent.
Noord Nederlands Orkest to open CityProms
On Friday evening, CityProms will be officially opened by the Noord Nederlands Orkest (NNO) under the direction of conductor Damian Iorio. The giant opening extravaganza of the festival will be dominated by music from Russia with the overture from “Russlan and Lyudmilla” by composer Mikhail Glinka (and based on a poem by Pushkin) opening the performance. Cellist Irene Kok will then play the “First Cello Concert” by Shostakovich, and the programme will also include a compilation from the famous “Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky, as reported in the Leeuwarder Courant.
Later in the evening, the 17 member Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, led by Rob Horsting, will combine jazz standards, gospel and soul jazz together with the ZO! Gospel Choir. The full schedule for the festival is available online at CityProms.nl.
CityProms: a festival for everyone
Together with sister organisation EMBRACE Netherlands, the festival will also give the elderly, people with disabilities and newcomers a stage, as exemplified by the musical theatre show “ANDERS!”: this project will bring together professional makers, young talent and amateurs with lesser-abled and intellectually-disabled talent in one production that will be performed during the CityProms.
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