shared love

for music

It doesn’t solve the geopolitical situation, but for refugees, music can make a world of difference. Through our refugee campaign, we’re spreading a little personal attention, compassion, and generosity throughout the world—always tied to our shared love of music, in whatever form it takes.

Sima, Anna

Sima is from Ukraine. There, she played in various orchestras. In the Netherlands, she is the concertmaster of the Amstelveen Symphony Orchestra, plays in the Ukraine Liberty Orchestra, and performs with family members in the “Romansky Family String Ensemble.”  Her violin had been left behind in Ukraine and was later retrieved by her son. The violin was damaged but has since been restored. The bow, however, was beyond repair. For a while, she had to borrow bows here and there, which was far from ideal. Thanks to the donation of a high-quality bow, she can now perform independently once again and serve as a reliable presence in the various ensembles.

Anna was born in Kharkiv, studied at the conservatory there, and joined the Kharkiv Philharmonic Orchestra. She had to leave her instrument behind in Ukraine and has, until now, played on borrowed instruments of mediocre quality in the Ukraine Liberty Orchestra and other professional ensembles. She is overjoyed to have been loaned a beautiful Max Möller violin. Her relationship with the 97-year-old (!) lender is excellent: he regularly attends Anna’s concerts and rehearsals and is delighted that his violin has been given a second (third?) life.

Matilda, Mohammed

Matilda is 22 years old and comes from Syria. The asylum center where she is staying has a music room, where she gives piano lessons to children. In Syria, she played the violin as well as the piano (and she also loves to sing and dance...). With this fine violin, she can expand her activities at the asylum center with full energy and help others cope with their circumstances.
She loves listening to Arabic music and has a recommendation for us: Wael Kfouri. “All of his music is great!”

Mohammed (33) is from Sudan, where he took percussion lessons and played drums in a band. He wasn’t able to actively make music for a few years, but now he has his own place and is looking into a rehearsal space. What’s more, he now has a fine drum set at his disposal, and his ambitions are no small matter: he wants to form a band here as well, integrate his knowledge of traditional rhythms into modern Western patterns, and create instructional videos on the subject.

singing together

An electronic organ from the 1980s may seem outdated compared to today’s digital capabilities. Yet there was a demand for such an organ, and we found grateful users at the reception center for Ukrainians in Roosendaal. The organ has been perfectly maintained and has become an evening gathering place for socializing and singing together.