Figure 1.--Here are some new boys just beginning to work with the Rotterdam Boys Choir. They wear white sweatshirts and have not yet been awarded their trademark sailor suits like the full choir members.
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Figure 1.--Here are some new boys just beginning to work with the Rotterdam Boys Choir. They wear white sweatshirts and have not yet been awarded their trademark sailor suits like the full choir members. |
The Rotterdams Jongenskoor (Rotterdam Boys Choir) is one of the best known Dutch boys' choir. The boys wear sailor suits for their performances. I'm not sure why the sailor suit was chosen. Of course Rotterdam is one of the major ports of the world with its location at the mouth of the Rhine River and the Netherlands has a long maritime tradition. They performe all over Europe, as well as in the United States (New Tork, Washinhton DC, Baltimore, and Salt Lake City). The Choir was founded in 1947, when there was less to do for the children/youths just in the post-War era. Young boys join the choir when they are 6 years old and switch to the concert choir after finishing a 3 years training to 'master-singer'. After the boys' voices break boys they continue as bass or tenor untill 22-23 years of age. The choir owns a very impressive building ('home-port')--the socalled 'Scheepsbrug'. It is the former part of a ship (the bridge) which was given to the choir after demolishing the (rest of the) ship. Now rebuild at the Leuvehaven (innerharbour in the city just at the river Rhine/Maas). At the front, there is a 'bow-flap' (awning?), in down-position a nice outdoorstage for summer sunday-afternoon concerts. Inside theu have a wonderful organ, ca 130 yers old. It has been fully restored and provided with an new front in the seamnas collar-style. The original historic front dates from 1870 was damaged. The Rotrerdam Boys Choir is also known as 'the young cultural ambassadors of the mainport Rotterdam'.
The Rotterdams Jongenskoor (Rotterdam Boys Choir) is one of the best known Dutch boys' choir. The Rotrerdam Boys Choir is also known as 'the young cultural ambassadors of the mainport Rotterdam'.
Holland has a long tradition as maritime nation Rotterdam is the biggest port in the world. It is located at the mouth of the Rhine River. That means much of the export shipments of Germany's most industrialized regions pass through Rotterdam.
The Choir was founded in 1947, just after World War II. Rotterdam had been heavily damaged in the War. At the gtime there was less to do for the children/youths. Not only were the economic conditions dreadful, but there were few youth programs and of course children did not have all the home entertaiment that modern children have.
The Choir performs all over Europe, as well as in the United States (New Tork, Washinhton DC, Baltimore, and Salt Lake City). There is no connection with Vienna Boyschoir which also has asailor suit uniform. The Rotterdam boys visited the Vienna boys during the 1950s. They visited again in 2002, during a tour though
Austria and Slovakia. They sung for the Vienna boys in their nice oval room, had a look at their building (former hunting-place of the Austrian Emerporors) and played a football match to a 2-2 tie.
The Choir was a non-residential Program. The boys go to different schools all over Rotterdam. They meet regularly in the Scheepsbrug for a very extensive choral music training program. It requires the boys to commit a substantial part of their free time to participate in the program.
Young boys join the choir when they are 6 years old and switch to the concert choir after finishing a 3 years training to 'master-singer'. The younger boys feel promoted after finishing the 3-years training. The first time they may wear their new sailor suit uniforms is at their first public performance, usually the Matthaus Passion of J.S.Bach. Every year the choir collaborates in 6-8 performances of the MP, which is very popular in Holland. For a young boy (8-9 years old) is that a very impressiv and overwelming experience: on the
stage in your new white sailorblouse on t he stage of the Doelen (2200-seats concertbuilding in Rotterdam). After the boys' voices break boys they continue as bass or tenor untill 22-23 years of age.
The choir owns a very impressive building ('home-port')--the so called 'Scheepsbrug'. It is the former part of a ship (the bridge) which was given to the choir after demolishing the (rest of the) ship. Now rebuild at the Leuvehaven (innerharbour in the city just at the river Rhine/Maas). At the front, there is a 'bow-flap' (awning?), in down-position a nice outdoorstage for summer sunday-afternoon concerts. Inside theu have a wonderful organ, ca 130 yers old. It has been fully restored and provided with an new front in the seamnas collar-style. The original historic front dates from 1870 was damaged.
The boys wear sailor suits for their performances. I'm not sure why the sailor suit was chosen. Of course Rotterdam is one of the world's major ports and with the Dutch maritime tradition, the sailor suit was a logical choice.
Sailor suits were still commonly worn by Dutch boys in the 940s and even the 50s, although for smaller boys. Bu this time they were mostly worn for dress purposes, always in navy blue. A Dutch reader tells us, "I myself (1947) can remember the sailor suit I woreas a boy. I was very proud to have a saloir suit for sundays, birthdays, etc. When there was an official occasion in our school about 25 percent of the boys in my class wore a sailor suit. Always with short pants. In the period after the World war II there was in Holland an atmoshere of rebuilding the country, but also of reconstructing our traditions of values before the war. We wanted to demonstrate that the War and the NAZIs were not succesfull in destroying them. Maybe that explains also the continuing of dressing traditions untill the 1960s when nearly everything changed." The sailor suits quickly became the Choir's
trademark. From the beginning the boys wore the white blouse with the attached blue collar. This was the tropical uniform worn by the Royal Dutch navy. The first blouses were in fact donated to the Choir by the Navy. Due to the colonial history (Indonesia) the Dutch navy also operated in the tropics. The Navy uniform also included white shorts and kneesocks. The Choir however chose blue long pants. Perhaps for esthetical reasons or because of Dutch history, the
boys have always been proud to wear their sailorsuit uniforms.
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