The war in Ukraine, earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco and the conflict between Israel and Hamas: A lot of unnecessary victims have already been made this year. And that is something that should not simply be forgotten, according to the Cultuurhuis Drenthe Foundation. That is why the foundation organized a memorial concert in the Hoofdstraatkerk in Hoogeveen on November 19.
“The whole world is currently on fire. We think we should do something about that. To commemorate all the people who died,” says Jan Leutscher of the foundation. The concert therefore bears the name Loss, Hope and Comfort. Part of the proceeds will go to charity.
The performance will be provided by various choirs. They perform the piece together with an orchestra Requiem (1983) by the French composer Gabriel Fauré op. In the Catholic Church, a requiem is a church service dedicated to a deceased person. This often happens in combination with music.
Composer and conductor Hoite Pruiksma was asked to help especially for the concert. For the occasion he has written a new piece in response to the war in Ukraine. Psalms in Latin alternate with the poem I stood with the dead by Siegfried Sassoon, war poet from the First World War.
Leutscher was previously involved with the Venendal art house in Hoogeveen, a place for art and small-scale chamber concerts. The art house had to close at the end of 2020 because the owner of the building had other plans for it.
“The concerts were always very successful,” he continues. “In fact, we have always had ideas about organizing concerts again. Since last January we have been working on plans for a memorial concert.” According to Leutscher, the Hoogevener Hoofdstraatkerk has the perfect sound for such a concert.
Hoogeveen is not the only location where the music will soon be heard. A series of concerts will kick off in Bolsward on November 18. The group then continues its journey to Hoogeveen and then also performs in Leeuwarden and Veenhuizen. “Partly to make it financially feasible,” says Leutscher.
Part of the money from ticket sales for the memorial concert in Hoogeveen will go to the BroodNeed initiative. The working group has close contacts with the Kofcheg Church in Novovolynsk, Ukraine, which helps the local population. For example, they built a bakery together at the church. Residents with a tight wallet can come there for bread. The church in Novovolynsk also accommodates more than two hundred Ukrainian refugees.
Since this year, Broodnoot has been sending transports with flour, all kinds of ingredients and countless other practical items to the church in Novovolynsk. They hope to be able to continue the work in the near future with part of the proceeds from the memorial concert.