Passing the Baton

in a packed

Aegten Chapel

The evening, which was intended to give donors and other guests the opportunity to thank and greet Marcel, naturally featured a great deal of beautiful music performed by musicians playing instruments from the collection of Het Muziekinstrumentenfonds.

Fancy Fiddlers en fortepiano

The evening began with a speech by Els Swaab, chair of the Supervisory Board, followed by a performance by 16 talented Fancy Fiddlers, who played with great energy and enthusiasm. Next up was Shuann Chai, who has a beautiful fortepiano on loan. This historic fortepiano from 1820 (Vienna) had been brought to the Sint Aegten Chapel especially for the occasion. After a detailed explanation of the instrument and its six pedals, Shuann performed Ludwig van Beethoven’s fitting Piano Sonata “Les Adieux.”

The Support Fund

Part of the program was the presentation of a check to Marcel Schopman, who had asked his guests to contribute to the Support Fund. A total of over €4,700 was raised. You can still contribute by transferring the desired amount to account NL58 ABNA 0555 0286 66, specifying “The Support Fund.” The Support Fund was established by Marcel Schopman upon his departure to help “musicians in need whom the fund supports” with the annual loan fee that musicians pay for the instrument they borrow. This fee is currently €516 per year for students and €666 for professional musicians.

Warm Heart

The warm regard Marcel has always shown toward musicians was then beautifully expressed by Quirine Viersen (cello) and Shuann Chai (fortepiano) in Ludwig van Beethoven’s piece “Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen.” Violinist Carla Leurs and pianist (but this evening, “speaker”) Laura de Lange performed Alan Ridout’s piece “Ferdinand,” in which Marcel was honored by slightly altering the lyrics. The evening concluded with our “house violinist” Noa Eyl, who, together with accordionist Maciej Wierzcholowski, led the audience to the reception with Bulgarian folk music.