Van der Sijde dares to say that all fifty aspiring musicians who registered in Annen today will eventually join an association. “That’s what we’re going for.”
Participant Annie Weelink is certainly enthusiastic. She has some music experience but left her hobby behind for years. She seizes this opportunity to become acquainted with music again with both hands. “It’s a lot of fun. I now play the horn and have some experience with baritone sax, but that all became a bit too difficult for me. I still wanted to start again.”
“It’s great fun. People who have never read a note, others have, it’s all about making music together,” Weelink continues. “It’s nice to do. A very nice project.”
The final rehearsal will be on Saturday, January 20, followed by a concert by the New Talent Orchestra. “The intention is then for people to continue with lessons from a professional,” says Van der Sijde. “We arrange this for the participants. In addition, the musicians take part in the transition orchestra. This will then continue in the same way until the summer holidays, once every two weeks.”
This means that a youth department is in the pipeline for the music associations in Aa and Hunze for the ‘older youth’. “The difference is that young people must first have years of lessons before they can join an orchestra. We turn it around. Adults can absorb the information faster and therefore progress faster.”