Toespraak minister Rianne Letschert (OCW) tijdens het Wereld Muziek Concours in Kerkrade

Good evening, Kerkrade!
 

It feels like coming home to be here. In, dare I say it, the most musical province of the Netherlands. In this City of Sound.
These weeks the musical heart of the Netherlands, of Europe and of the world.

Let me take you back to 1949, when a miners' brass band from Yorkshire travelled to Kerkrade, where two harmony orchestras had invited them to play together.
They shared the experience of hard labour in the mines. They found each other in their love of music.
In the open air, they unpacked their instruments. Their cornets, their horns, baritones, trombones and tubas.

I picture them, on the great field, their uplifting melodies filling the air as the celebration begins.
I picture the visitors streaming in, some five thousand people. Tired from working in the mines, tired from the hard years after the war. Looking for a bit of fun.
I picture how arms linked, cheeks flushed, legs danced deep into the night.
On this evening, strangers became friends. There, in the open air, the idea for the World Music Contest was born.

Two years later, in 1951, the first edition became reality.
This time Kerkrade was flooded by five thousand musicians. More than two hundred thousand people came to watch and celebrate.
The musicians came from fourteen European countries. The people of Kerkrade opened their hearts and homes to host them.

Music turns strangers into friends.

The first World Music Contest went down in history as the Miracle of Kerkrade. A miracle of fellowship, of joy, of spectacle.
The World Music Contest grew bigger every year.

Today, seventy-five years after that first miraculous edition, we are gathered here with musicians from all over the world.
During this year's World Music Contest, at least twenty different languages can be heard here – all in one place.

And yet, despite all those languages, something remarkable happens. As we saw in 1949, and as we still experience today: music doesn't need translation. In the end, we all understand each other.

Many young, ambitious musicians work hard to earn a place at the World Music Contest. They train for years to compete in these Olympic Games of brass and wind music.
This starts in village halls, at music schools and societies that form the hearts of countless towns and cities in the Netherlands, in Europe and in the world.
It's in these community buildings that kids discover their talent and dare to dream about bigger stages. It's there that teachers encourage them and help them develop their skills.
Some of those dreams come true. And to all the dreamers, to all the musical super talents: I cannot wait to hear you play.

The World Music Contest began on an open field. Later, the orchestras played in tents. But the need for a permanent home grew.
Sixty years ago, this hall opened its doors. I have been told that, in the Kerkrade dialect, the Rodahal is known as Ut Sjtriksje. Quite a tongue twister! It means “the bow tie”. 
The first and, to this day, the only hall in the world built specifically for brass and wind music.
A place where strangers become friends.

May I ask mayor Petra Dassen to join me on this stage?
It is my great pleasure to congratulate you, your city, and the World Music Contest on the designation of the Rodahal as a National Heritage Site!
This Rodahal is one of the first fifteen post-1965 listed monuments in the Netherlands. Our more recent heritage is part of our story, too, and it deserves our care.

Dear friends,
Music, and arts and culture more broadly, bring people together. They create a sense of belonging, shape our identity, and help us navigate an increasingly complex world.
That is why this government, together with local authorities, invests in cultural facilities across the country and wants every child to experience music, theatre, dance, film, and the visual arts through school.

Here in Limburg, we can see exactly why that matters. Music has shaped this region for generations, and its sound resonates far beyond it.

For 75 years, the World Music Contest in Kerkrade has brought people together. Every four years, for three weeks, musicians from all corners of the world meet here - connecting with one another and with the people of Kerkrade and the surrounding area.

Want speult de fanfaar, dan velt de ganse werld wir logisch in elkaar.
When the brass band plays, everything falls into place

I think it’s time we experience it ourselves. 
Let’s raise the roof!