The Royal Military Band Johan Willem Friso from Assen gets its own march after 20 years. Composer Hendrik de Boer from Drachten will create the composition.
The Association of Friends of the Johan Willem Frisokapel is behind the assignment. The Royal Military Band Johan Willem Frisokapel, as its official name is, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025. The chapel with 53 professional musicians has the Johan Willem Friso Barracks in Assen as its home base. The chapel in its current form was founded in 2005, but does not have its own march. Its predecessors, the JWF Chapel and the Royal Military Band, did have one. “High time for its own march, which gives the chapel an identity. Just like a big hit from a pop band,” says Tjeert Poelman, secretary of the Friends.
Tuba
Hendrik de Boer plays tenor tuba at the chapel and studied at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen. In recent years, De Boer has been composing and arranging more and more. His new march will premiere on April 26, 2024 during the King’s Concert of the military band in De Nieuwe Kolk in Assen. A march traditionally sets the pace during marching and is played during (military) ceremonies.
Protest
With the threatened closure of the barracks in Assen in 2022, the Drenthe capital became uncertain as the location of the chapel. More than 45 musicians from the North held a protest in De Nieuwe Kolk and contributed to the preservation of the chapel. “The fact that we can celebrate the 20th anniversary in Assen is an extra reason for a party. The new march is part of that. This gives the chapel more color to the cheeks,” says Poelman.
The Association of Friends is investigating whether the new march can be recorded on CD and made available to the public via streaming services. The Association of Friends consists of more than three hundred members. The board organizes various activities, such as a visit last week with more than fifty members to the National Taptoe Ahoy in Rotterdam.