Our Earliest André Rieu Fans
Who are the fans that have known André the longest??? That's what Ineke wondered on a rainy day in August
2014. We know all about André, but what do we know about the earliest fans
(before the year 2000) who are still fans today (almost 20 years later!)? A continuing story - Each week we will feature a new fan. Here is Part 1:
Sonja Harper and Ruth Morgan.
SONJA HARPER is from Dutch origin who lives
in Ohio (USA) and has been a fan since 1995. In 2002 she started her own André Rieu
Fan Website in the US (which we all know now as "Translations").
From
Sonja: In April 1995, I was in Holland on vacation and my
Dad and I were watching the
semifinal of the UEFA Cup
soccer. Dad has always been a sports fanatic. When I was young, we always
watched soccer and speed skating together and went to the games and events. The
semifinal was between the Ajax from Amsterdam; and the Bayern
Munich from Munich, Germany. The
first game of the semifinal was
played in Munich and ended in 0-0. The second game was played in the Ajax
stadium in Amsterdam and it was an extremely exciting game ... before half
time Holland was ahead 3 to 1.
So the fans were already
going crazy.
Then half time started and
on walked this man with long hair and a violin. What in the world was that
- during such an important and exciting game they had a violinist? And then he started to play! It did not take long before all those
soccer fans were singing and
swaying along - Dutch and German alike. I believe there were 65,000 soccer fans singing, swaying and waving
flags to Andre's Second Waltz. I
was sold and Dad loved it too. At home, we too were singing
............. Ajax won the
game 5 to 2 and André scored a major hit with that performance. Holland was Waltzing!
André became the
Waltz King. Of course I had to go back to the
USA, but after that experience, whenever I was in
Holland I would hunt for his CDs and videos.
In 1996, André was on PBS (American television) for the first time with 'From Holland with Love". And in 1997 he did his first US Tour. On November 10, 1997 he came to Ohio (the state where I live) and played at the Battelle Hall at the Columbus Convention Center. I went with a group of Dutch friends and we had a blast. My first concert was Columbus 1997, but the first time I actually talked to André was again in Columbus, but in 2002. That conversation with him is what made me start my Website.
In 1996, André was on PBS (American television) for the first time with 'From Holland with Love". And in 1997 he did his first US Tour. On November 10, 1997 he came to Ohio (the state where I live) and played at the Battelle Hall at the Columbus Convention Center. I went with a group of Dutch friends and we had a blast. My first concert was Columbus 1997, but the first time I actually talked to André was again in Columbus, but in 2002. That conversation with him is what made me start my Website.
For the promotion of the 1997 concert tour, PBS showed a video clip of André playing the Second Waltz in Amsterdam and Kinderdijk (the 19 windmills area). The whole video was so wonderful, that it made me homesick. I decided that I would love to have that video tape, so I called PBS to see if there would be any reruns so I could tape it. I was told it was a onetime commercial for André and they could not play it again. I really wanted that clip badly. So I kept looking for it on the Internet.
Finally I
located the people who made the video for André. I
figured I can ask - so I called the
company and spoke to a very nice
lady. I explained to her what I
wanted and she said she would be happy to
send me a copy. It was of
course in PAL, but I have a special video player which does play PAL. A week later it was in the mail with a very nice note. It is still one of my favorite videos from Andre. She also told me that the video had been planned for
a while and finally they had set a date. but suddenly the weather changed and it
was going to warm up a lot and they had to get it done in a real hurry. Everyone had to drop everything they had planned and
film it in that day, because the following day the ice would not be thick enough anymore.
RUTH MORGAN: At the time Ruth
and her husband Jim discovered André Rieu, they lived in Buffalo, New York.
(They now live near Lake Tahoe,
Nevada) Ruth scored the first photo with André ever, from 1997!!
This is her story and the earliest photos
...
From Ruth: I have been a fan since February
1997, when I first saw Andre on my PBS channel in Buffalo, New York. In August 1997 André came to my
Buffalo PBS Station where Jim and I volunteered to take pledges. André played
“Meditation” while he was standing right in front of me. I
recorded the program while I was in the studio on my VCR and have made a DVD
from the video tape of him there. That's when Jim took the photo of me with
André and of
course I was very excited to meet André in
person. (André was then 47
years of age).
My first concert was in Toronto's, Maple Leaf Hockey
Stadium and my second concert was at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Both
concerts were in November of 1997. Since then I have been to about 85 André Rieu
concerts in many countries including the USA, Canada, Netherlands, Germany,
Austria, and Australia. The photo of Jim and
I with André was taken at a "Meet and Greet Dinner" in a Toronto restaurant
before my first concert in Toronto. We are still fans in 2014 and we
have traveled already 11 times in a row
to Maastricht to visit friends and attend the hometown concerts
there.
(We Will Feature Another Fan Next Week!)
4 comments:
Thank You - Sonja and Ruth
it is so nice to read and see photos from long time fans !!
Looking for next articles...
J'ai découvert André en 1997, lors d'une courte présentation de la valse No2 à la télévision française, j'adore sa musique et depuis ce moment je suis devenue une fan inconditionnelle. Je ne manque pas d'aller l'entendre en concert à chaque fois qu'il vient en France et j'ai eu le bonheur d'assister cette année 2014 à ses merveilleux concerts au Vrijthof.Merci cher André et bravo! Francine.
Thank Goodness! I am forever grateful that Sonja talked to Andre in 2002 or there wouldn't be a Translations website, and without this website, I wouldn't have known so much about Andre and made so many friends, and one of the very first fans I met was Ruth. It was 2007 when Ruth and Bobbie came to Vancouver for Andre's concert. The 2 girls also went to the Seattle concert that year, and I was going "WHOW!!!!" These fans are amazing!! But I wasn't so bad myself...haha...met them again in Toronto 2 months later...and then Maastricht!
Girls, it's about time we need to meet again!
Thank you so much for posting this - what a great idea!! The only thing is, these articles will make me INSANELY jealous of these soooooo lucky people who have actually met and had pics taken with The Maestro. I had a "high-5" in Maastricht this year and my continuing ambition is to meet Andre and have a photograph with him.............one day!
Moira x
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