Around The World With André Rieu

Around The World With André Rieu

Who doesn't want to play for thousands of people and explore the world?

June 2020: A career as a professional musician. Which youthful musician does not secretly dream about their first enthusiastic steps on their musical path, and a future life as a professional musician? For many it remains a dream, but for Sanne Mestrom that dream became a reality. For 15 years now the saxophonist of brass band "Eensgezindheid" (Unity) from Maasbracht-Beek (in Limburg) has been traveling the world as a member of André Rieu’s Johann Strauss Orchestra.

The school children of Maasbracht-Beek know exactly where Sanne is in the world. Her concerts with the Johann Strauss Orchestra form a link to geography lessons for teacher Peter Roufs and his class. He tells about the country, the language and the people where the former student of his school is playing that week. More than 110 concerts per year provide sufficient teaching materials for an entire school year.

Since 2005, Sanne Mestrom tours the globe with the JSO, led by André Rieu. "Who wouldn't want to explore the entire world and simultaneously play every day in front of an audience of thousands of people?"

It is the end of May. Sanne has been at home since the middle of March. The 2-week tour through the USA had to abruptly be canceled due to the outbreak of the corona virus. Performances in Ireland, England, Germany, Chile, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Poland and the annual concerts on the Vrijthof in Maastricht have in the meantime also been canceled. It is not easy. At the end of last year, Rieu and his company also had to flee Chile when riots broke out there. “It is very strange just sitting here,” says Sanne at home in Maasbracht. “You not only want to play and see people happy in the audience, but you also miss your second family with whom you normally spend half a year with. A number of orchestra members really belong to my best friends and I miss them. It must be terrible for André Rieu and his office staff, not knowing where they stand. When are we allowed to  perform again? When are we all allowed to enter the studio again? Currently everything is still quite uncertain and that for everyone is a terrible feeling.”

Saxophone

For Sanne Mestrom there was no escape. Every day, musicians from the brass band "Eensgezindheid" came to her home. Father Huub taught brass instruments to the students of the brass band. He also assisted dozens of musicians in preparations for the soloists competitions. Musicians from Maasbracht-Beek won lots of prizes during the various competitions. “The music room at home was filled with everything that breathes music," Sanne remembers. “Stacks of scores, a piano and countless wind instruments. The daily practical-and-solfège lessons of my father fascinated me. As a small child I attended almost every lesson. That is how I playfully learned to read notes and developed my hearing acuity. My courses at the music school and later at the conservatory were relatively successful."

She had a choice of musical instruments. The music room was filled with them. Although her choice quickly went to the piano and the soprano saxophone. I distinctly remember telling my dad that I would like to try a saxophone. He immediately gave me an alto sax. I looked at it for a moment and then reacted disappointed. “Not a curved one! I want a straight one”, I said. After much insistence I finally acquired my soprano saxophone. The love for this instrument has never diminished! The choice for the sax did not just come out of the blue. Brassband "Eensgezindheid" brought forth countless excellent saxophonists. “Many of those good saxophonists I heard play at our house. That is why the interest in this instrument was quickly aroused. Especially the soprano saxophone, it has somehow fascinated me from the very first moment. The tone-quality of a soprano saxophone does something to me. Whether you play classical repertoire or jazz.”

Proud

Just like all the other “Eensgezindheid” musicians, Sanne also participated every spring in the soloist competitions. At the age of 10 she won her first competition on the piano. In 1999 she won the Mgr Roncken Tournament on the soprano saxophone, at that time the most prestigious soloist competition for hafabra (brass instruments) musicians in Limburg. She also won the league title of the former Federation for Catholic Music Associations twice in a row. Sanne: “A nice detail to mention is that during my first piano competition, Jean-Philippe Rieu, André's brother, was a jury member. He gave me all tens. I was very proud of that.” She also achieved great successes with the association. Three times in a row the brass band “Eensgezinheid” won the world title during the world music competition in the concert section, in Kerkrade. After obtaining her VWO diploma, it was almost assured she would be going to the conservatory. In Maastricht she studied piano with Tonie Ehlen and sax with Norbert Nozy and Arno Bornkamp.

 

 Audition

Sixteen years ago the telephone rang in the Mestrom residence. Sanne had just returned from a holiday in Gambia. Jean Sassen told her that André Rieu was looking for a saxophonist for his first Vrijthof concert (2005). Sassen is a former conductor of the brass band "Eensgezindheid" and from the very beginning double bass player with André Rieu. “Even on the day of my return home, I went to audition in the Rieu studios in Maastricht,” Sanne remembers. “After the audition, André asked if I had anything else to do for that day. When I said "no", he asked me if I wanted to stay and rehearse. Since that day I've never left.”

New World

For Sanne a new world opened up. As a child of 10, on television she saw the female musicians of the orchestra in their beautiful dresses. She dreamed of being able to sit someday in that place. All of a sudden that dream came true. “This was a unique opportunity for me. Especially since there are few orchestral jobs available for classical saxophonists. From day one I ended up in a “bed of roses”. I didn't know what I was experiencing that first week. The food was great and there was even a nursery in André Rieu's studio for the orchestra members' children. I have never regretted for one moment the decision to join the orchestra."

Antarctica
In the meantime she has toured with Rieu to all the continents on the globe, except Antarctica. “And I wouldn't be surprised if André manages to arrange a performance there as well. After all, he always says that he also wants to play on the moon one time.” More than 110 times a year somewhere in the world she shares the stage with the Maastricht Stand-Alone-Violinist. “The combination of playing and traveling really appeals to me. It is great to experience how different cultures react to our music.” 

She had barely been with Rieu for less than a year when she was already featured as a soloist on the stage of Radio City Music Hall in New York (Rockefeller Center) with a virtuoso adaptation of Boots Randolph's Yackety Sax. Sanne: “That feeling, standing there, I will never forget. Fortunately, it is all recorded as a permanent memory on a DVD. If someone had told me 15 years ago that I was going to play a solo in New York, I would have laughed at him. It was a dream. Other highlights were the concerts in Australia with the imposing backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace. To play for 40,000 people every night for a month. That was impressive. You were then in such a huge flow with that huge decor, that you didn't even realize how big and how special it was. Two ice rinks where professional ice dancers skated, a ballroom with professional dancers, fountains everywhere… unbelievable. During that month we were also able to see the entire country of Australia. A unique experience.” Just like the first concerts in Mexico and the South American countries she will not soon forget. "Everywhere in the world people are happy and enthusiastic to see André play, but this, namely Mexico, was really on a different level. The audience had been waiting for years to finally see André. When they saw him, such a deafening roar broke loose that we literally had to put our hands over our ears. People touched us all, some with tears in their eyes. As more reserved Dutch people, we are not used to so much emotion and physical enthusiasm. I will never forget how the audience went crazy with the folk song Cielito Lindo. An hour after the concert, the fans were still singing that song outside while waiting for André.

Sanne admits that all the traveling during the long tours sometimes is "very tiresome." Especially in countries like America, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, when the orchestra often has long travel days. “But if you look at the audience in the evening and see how people are enjoying themselves and come to the front with banners, you forget everything and get such an energy boost that you can go on again for another whole month.” Besides, according to Sanne, there is also enough time for the musicians to do some sightseeing in that country. “During such an American tour we always have two to three days off. Generally we then stay in beautiful cities. During the day we all do fun things and for the evening André has normally always picked out a nice restaurant where we all eat together. We are generously being spoiled!"

Father Figure
During the performances, the members of the Strauss Orchestra portray a close and fun group. Is that also the case behind the scenes? Sanne: “Of course it sounds very stereo typical, but we are really a big family. Sometimes you see your colleagues more often than your own family. Of course, at the end of a long tour you sometimes think: "Okay, now some rest!!". But after a few days, the longing starts again, and you call a colleague: "Hey, do you have something to do tonight?" You long for each other. André has become for his people, and for those who like me started in the orchestra at a young age, a kind of father figure. Sometimes he really gives that paternal advice when someone is not at all feeling well. When someone has physical complaints, he will arrange the best specialist. Really very special.”

Extra Income
Critics sometimes question the artistic contents of the André Rieu formula. Sanne resolutely brushes that criticism aside. “When I started with André, there were indeed a few fellow musicians who did not take him all that serious. They thought he was much too commercial. Those same people now come and ask me if I want to call them when something  becomes available to earn a little extra income. Of course every concert we play “An der schönen blauen Donau” (the Blue Danube). The audience wants to hear that. And when you watch the people waltz with so much pleasure, you have no problem at all playing that piece every night. Besides classical pieces our repertoire also  contains other music styles such as South American music and pieces from musicals. People of course may have an opinion, but no one can deny that André gets things accomplished which other artists never achieve.”

World Circus
Sanne thinks that the Rieu formula is far from being finished. There are still many countries lining up to embrace the waltz king. “If André wanted to, we could play somewhere every day of the year, year around. Countries are constantly being added. Especially in South America they are eager to finally experience what they only know from DVD's. People from these countries who can afford it, have already been to the Vrijthof, but that of course is something ordinary people cannot afford. And they are extra happy when André comes to play there."

Sanne hopes to be part of the musical world circus for

a long time to come. The only question is how long her boss will keep it up. Since Rieu had to cancel a series of concerts a few years ago due to fatigue, he has slowed down a bit. But in the meantime, the Maastricht orchestra leader has surpassed the seventy year mark and the years are slowly starting to add up, even though he claims he will become 120 years old. About this Sanne says: “I hope he'll make it, because then I can play with André until my retirement. I guess I wouldn't even want to retire then, ha, ha. But all joking aside: with all the reductions in art and culture, I am extremely grateful that I can earn my living with such a great job in music. I hope we can take this up again after the corona crisis."

Roots
But whatever happens, she will never forget her roots. She views the world of amateur brass band music with great respect. When she is not on the road with the Johann Strauss Orchestra, she can be found every Saturday at the rehearsal in Brachterbeek. "And with great pleasure," she emphasizes. “After all, a great deal of my love for music was born there. I learned a lot from the brass band. Besides, my great role models are still there. That is how I still learn new things with the brass band."

 Thanks to John and Ineke for the Translation

Text: Frank Vergoossen. 

Photos: Frank Steijns, Marcel van Hoorn, ARP (And John)