Lots of contestants were present at the NedPhO-koepel in Amsterdam, last Saturday afternoon. Nearly 50 districts in the capital were in the running for a free-of-charge festival concert in their own area during the Grachtenfestival period from 7th until 16th of August.
'We are very excited about the big amount of motivated and enthusiastic submission, this year', thus Marie-Luce Bree, maniging director of the festival. 'We intent to reach as many locals as possible through music. Thanks to these initiatives we know we are appreciated throughout the city'.
The lucky winners of 2020 are:
Stadsdeel Noord: Schellingwouderbreekpark, Tuinpark/Zilverberg en Pleiadenplein
Stadsdeel Oost: Dapperbuurt
Amsterdam-Zuidoost: Reigersbos, Nellestein
Stadsdeel Nieuw-West: Sierplein, Kasterleepark (Nieuw Sloten)
West: Midwest (Baarsjes), Rijtuigenhof en Rhapsody (Kolenkitbuurt)
Zuid: Buitenveldert (Levensboomcollectief)
The Grachtenfestival exists for everyone because of the importance of cultuur - in our case classical music and jazz music. Culture enriches and connects, music has no boundries and it has a universal language. Our performing musicians have over 40 different nationalities and all of them are under 30 years old. Social cohesian will be strengthened when it is possible to enjoy beautiful music together.
With the annual free concerts, we want to facilitate encounters between locals in several neighborhoods. The recent years have shown us an enormous need for this. We see great potential in order to increase our social impact.
The free neighborhood concerts are made possibly by our main sponsors: Gemeente Amsterdam, Amsterdam fonds voor de Kunst, het VSBFonds, Tours & Tickets, project partners and several city districts of Amsterdam.