In several ways, Brassband Rijnmond's first official performance after 1.5 years of lock-down was memorable and a great success.

First of all, on Saturday 10 July 2021, a beautiful program with works by Dutch composers was performed during the DOBC mini-festival that was held as an alternative to the canceled Dutch Open Brassband Championships. Moreover, this was the first official performance of conductor Chris Derikx after his appointment at the beginning of last year. Chris made sure that Brassband Rijnmond showed and heard its best side with very neat and musical playing.

Recording BrassPass:

In the beautiful hall of the Oosterpoort/SPOT in Groningen, Brassband Rijnmond played a program recorded by BrassPass tv for a limited audience. A portrait was also made of the band, including interviews and music fragments, which will be broadcast soon.

World Premiere:

During this performance, Jan de Haan's composition "The Baltic Way" had its world premiere. This work was composed especially for the 2020 European Youth Brass Band Championships in Lithuania which unfortunately were also canceled due to Covid, meaning the piece has never been performed before.

Euphonium solo "Catharsis":

Also worth mentioning was the performance of the impressive euphonium solo "Catharsis" by composer Geert Schrijvers by Stefan van der Wilt. This composition, originally for harmony and specially adapted for Brassband Rijnmond, depicts the tragedy of the Hercules air disaster in 1996, in which so many young musicians lost their lives. Stefan played this beautiful piece modestly and with a lot of musicality. It was without a doubt the highlight of the program.

Brassband Rijnmond can look back with satisfaction on this excellent performance, which once again made it clear how much the band has missed performing in front of an audience lately. Brass band Rijnmond and its conductor are eagerly looking forward to the next concert.