In the rehearsal room of the Drents Seniors Orchestra in Beilen this afternoon, dozens of musicians are slowly trickling. More than sixty people, from 45 to 90 years old, take a seat behind their instrument once more. The tension is palpable, because it is the last rehearsal for the Liberation Concert on April 29 in Roden.
Under the leadership of conductor Henk Veneman, the Marsen, classics and modern songs are once again practiced. “We play two types of music,” says Jennie Lambers-Niers, chairman of the orchestra. “Modern compositions, but also music from the time of the Second World War. Everyone knows We’ll meet again from Vera Lynn. “
For some orchestra members, this concert means more than just a performance. Bertus Tibben (86) was another child during the war, but remembers a lot. “I didn’t understand it then, but later everything fell into place. I was always at home with my mother, and I got everything that happened. Those stories stayed with me.”
For Tibben, making music is not only a hobby, but in this way also a form of commemoration. “I can very well understand that children from war zones are walking traumas. I didn’t have that myself, but I understand. You see things that are not normal.”
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