Peace Freedom & Reconciliation
The Future of a Past
'The Future of a Past' was a choral and memorial project about peace, freedom and reconciliation. This unique concert was performed on 9 and 10 April 2022 in the Theaterkerk Bemmel.
A meeting of people to people with the best connecting factor there is; singing and making music.
We sang among others the beautiful work 'Requiem for the Living' by composer Dan Forrest, 'Over the Wall' by the Klein Orkest, but also symphonic rock songs like 'Civil War' by Guns N' Roses.
This webpage is a digital record of the project.
Bianca van Dreumel
Director and Producer
It started with a dream...
Creating a unique crossover performance in a special location. A performance in which classical, symphonic rock and pop songs, as well as touching kleinkunst music meet. When I was first introduced to composer Dan Forrest's beautiful "Requiem for the Living" in late 2018, I also knew what the performance should be about. Freedom! Why? Because freedom can never be taken for granted.
'How wonderful it would be if in the year 2020 we could build a bridge with passionate choral singers from all corners of the Netherlands and border Germany with that which always connects people: singing and making music!'
Thus, at the beginning of February 2019, the choral and 75th anniversary project 'The Future of a Past' was born.
April 9, 2022, now 77 years of freedom. More than ever we realized what it is like to be less free. A pandemic, war... freedom is not to be taken for granted.
Through the two extra years there stood a particularly intensely connected and resilient choir. We kept encouraging each other, and despite the difficult circumstances, we kept going. My dream became our dream. It makes me proud and it touches me deeply how we accomplished this journey together.
In this photo album you can see some photos of the concert. Enjoy with us
In our wonderful journey, we were connected to the theme not only in song, but also in poetic and artistic ways. Thus, there are unique portraits with Stories of Freedom on our website. You are always welcome to share your portrait with us.
To illustrate reconciliation, we made "relay drawings" with Dutch and German schoolchildren.
On oblong banners children made drawings about what freedom means to them.
The drawings were created in relay form. One week we worked at a Dutch school, the other week at a German one. The schoolchildren told a story with their drawing. This story was written down and then read to the next child who started working with that drawing. Daantje Kip was in charge of supervision.
The result hung in the foyer and on the chairs in the Theater Church.
We also made a commemorative flower, the Marigold, from ceramics. On September 19, 2021, during our commemoration tour, we distributed this flower at four war cemeteries in Groesbeek, Donsbrüggen, Reichswald and the civilian casualty monument in Huissen. We took all these experiences with us and it resonated in our music.
September 19, 2021 was a beautiful and special day. Together with our German friends, we reflected on losses suffered on both sides. And there is a realization how important it is to keep building actively for peace, freedom and reconciliation.
Our choristers felt even more what they were singing about....
We take you on a bird's-eye view of the Remembrance Tour of "The Future of a Past.
'Via the mass grave in Huissen with the song "Even if you are silent", to Groesbeek War Cemetery with the story of Gustaf Biéler and "Ukutula" to the Reichswald War Cemetery with the story of the split of the crew of bombers and "over the wall".
The final stop was at the German War Cemetery in Donsbrüggen. 'I Believe' is the belief that by being together and remembering we are working towards Peace, Freedom and Reconciliation. Then when that is sung in the crypt of the cemetery with all the names of all those people buried in that cemetery, what an energy there is and what makes it all possible! What a special day!
Text: from our tour guide Paul ten Broeke
April 3, 2022! We gave a first try-out in the St. Lambertus Church in Donsbrüggen. The church had beautiful acoustics and our singing was accompanied only on piano by Leon Eijsbouts.
Donsbrüggen is connected to project partner Manfred de Haan and the German war cemetery we visited on September 19, 2021. It was nice to be able to give this performance and thus complete the circle.
The chosen pieces of music deal with the theme of peace, freedom and reconciliation. They are sometimes raw, confrontational, but also hopeful and moving. They touch you in your soul. The unusual mix and diversity symbolizes the embrace of differences that reinforce each other. When we reconcile with the past, you can be you and I can be me, it brings us closer to peace and freedom.
You are my freedom, I am your freedom'
Quote from singer-poet Thomas Hessels
Our project was made possible in part by...
Dit was een Euregion project gesubsidieerd door Euregio Rhein-Maas-Nord
Projectleider Bianca van Dreumel, initiator en regisseur.
Duitse projectpartner Manfred de Haan, Verkehrsverein Donsbrüggen, zorgt voor de herdenkingstour op 19 september 2021.
Nederlandse projectpartner Mireille van Kempen, zorgt voor de organisatie en administratie.
‘Wat is hoopvoller dan voormalige vijanden die samen kunnen zingen en samen durven herdenken? Wat een krachtige basis voor het bewaken van de democratische rechtsstaat. Van harte aanbevolen.’