André Offers Limburg Children Music Lessons

André Rieu Offers a Thousand 

Limburg Children Music Lessons

Investing € 425,000

December 1, 2019 Chapeau Magazine - André Rieu is going to sponsor music education in Limburg. Together with the foundation Cultuurfonds Limburg, he has taken the initiative to allow children to follow music education. Music education costs € 425,-- per year per child. Rieu wants to give no less than a thousand children in Limburg, who otherwise would not have the chance, the opportunity to receive music lessons and he is donating  € 425,000 Euros to the foundation "Cultuurfonds Limburg."  "I like for every child to feel the joy I have in making music," says the famous Maastricht orchestra leader.

"My orchestra members and I know what it means to have fun every day making music, and to make millions of people happy with music night after night. The orchestra members all have had music lessons since childhood and learned to play an instrument. They may therefore realize better than anyone else what it means if you can't do that at all. Not being lucky enough to be involved with music as a child, learn to play an instrument or receive music lessons."

The plan of the Foundation is to set up an André Rieu Relay Fund, whereby someone will have to take over from André Rieu in a year's time, and then to again let a thousand children in Limburg enjoy music lessons.

Rieu does not believe that music lessons in the current education system are hardly scheduled at all, and because of that children learn to make less music than they did before. Via the foundation, he now wants to change something in that himself. The chairman of the foundation "Youth Fund Culture" is the mayor of Kerkrade Petra Dassen.

The initiative of foundation "Cultuurfonds Limburg" is a follow-up to the project "Every child an instrument". In 2011 Queen Maxima came to a meeting of the World Music Competition (WMC) in Kerkrade to support this project. The WMC also supports the continuation of this. Secretary Ludo Diels: “This is a great gesture by André Rieu. Anyone who comes into contact with music at a young age will later - actively and passively - benefit from it. For children, making music together is also socially important." André Rieu has been a patron of the WMC for years.

Thanks to Ineke for the article and John's Translation