Annual report 2024: Participation
Education
The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra wants children to enjoy classical music from an early age. Thanks to various educational projects, children, young people and students were introduced to the world of the orchestra (in school) in 2024.
De Muziekkoffer
The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra invites kindergartners to explore the world of the orchestra. They are introduced to all the orchestra’s instruments. The children then attend a rehearsal for 15 minutes, during which they are seated close to the musicians. In 2024, the Muziekkoffer took place 28 times, introducing 666 preschoolers to classical music.
Abracadabra!
At this music initiation, a class from special primary education is first given an initiation to the orchestra. The pupils take their seats in the hall to see the conductor at work during a short rehearsal of the orchestra. The accompanying teachers are exerts in special education and can speak with gesture support (SMOG) if required.
School performances with accompanying classroom workshops
During the KID concerts, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra performs symphonic music combined with a captivating story, brought by talented actors: the ideal way to get acquainted with orchestral music. Separate school performances for primary schools are also organised at each KID concert. Schools are sent educational material in advance, familiarising pupils with the ins and outs of a professional orchestra. The schools also get the chance to book a preparatory workshop. An experienced music coach will then come to the school to introduce the story and the music. In this way, pupils discover the stories behind the music and then experience the concert visit even more strongly.
De Grote Ontmoeting
Pupils experiment with the building blocks of a grand symphonic work during a dance and music workshop. They are given a playful, interactive and creative introduction to a gem of the classical music repertoire by the experienced teachers of the art-educational organisation De Veerman. During a rehearsal in the Queen Elisabeth Hall, the pupils hear the orchestra perform the work. Afterwards, they have the opportunity to meet some of the musicians during a speed dating session and reflect on the concert experience in a more casual atmosphere.
De Muziekfabriek
Young people are given the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at the orchestra and discover various aspects of its operation. A music teacher takes the students backstage, where they are given an interactive introduction to the orchestra’s activities, the technique of music instruments, and the building blocks of the symphonic repertoire. They then attend part of a rehearsal so they can experience first-hand what a symphonic orchestra sounds like and how it works.
Backstage Buzz
The orchestra provides an adapted introduction for young people who attend the regular concerts, in the presence of a musician, the conductor or the soloist.
Family concert at AMUZ
After the success of the first edition in 2023, musicians of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra again presented a family performance in AMUZ in 2024. For two sold-out concerts, concertmaster Lisanne Soeterbroek herself put together the performance The Wizard of Oz, focusing on audiences of all ages. In collaboration with theatre-maker Freek De Craecker, a musical experience was created that managed to enchant young and old alike.
Outreach
In addition to its regular concerts, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra fulfils a broad social mission. Various socio-cultural groups are introduced to classical music thanks to an extensive range of threshold-reducing projects in home base Antwerp.
OpMaatorkest
Every year, opMaatorkest gives over 350 children from Antwerp primary schools, mainly in socially disadvantaged and multicultural neighbourhoods, the chance to come into contact with classical music, learn to play an instrument as a group and develop their talents. Besides the weekly music lessons and regular vocal coaching given at school by Antwerp Symphony coaches, the students of the opMaatorkest also played a final concert on the stage of the grand Queen Elisabeth Hall.
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra Mobiel
With Antwerp Symphony Orchestra Mobile, the orchestra targets a very specific group of society: people who are physically unable to attend a regular concert. With 33 musicians, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra travelled to various care homes, where a light, accessible and adapted music programme was performed. With this project, the orchestra allows people who cannot make their way to a concert hall to still participate in classical music life.
In 2024, these were PVT De Liereman, De Kapel, ZNA PVT Stuivenberg, Dienstverleningscentrum Zevenbergen and the Prison of Dendermonde. These concerts brought a varied and accessible programme to people who otherwise have difficulty accessing live classical music.
Welcome tickets & discounts
For several years now, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra has focused on cooperating with regular partners such as the City of Antwerp, Atlas, Vrijuit, Sta-an, Recht-Op and ArmenTekort. This network is used to distribute €4 tickets to make even the most prestigious concerts accessible to the widest possible audience. In addition, young people, students, people with disabilities and other target groups also enjoy discounts in order to lower the threshold to classical concerts as much as possible.
Doe Maar Mee
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra designs a ground-breaking concept especially for people who experience barriers at ordinary concerts, as well as offering an inclusive concert experience for everyone who wants to experience classical music in a different way. Because there is no doubt that classical music and movement have a positive influence on mental well-being - and everyone deserves to reap the benefits.
The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is working with Andrew Greenwood for this purpose. He uses the switch2move-method, in which he merges classical music and movement into a multi-sensory total experience.
Visitors are introduced to the method during an on-site workshop led by a chamber music ensemble of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and accompanied by a movement coach. They then come to the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp for the final concert.
The first preparatory workshops for Doe Maar Mee took place in 2024.
