Maastricht, city of music

But music in Maastricht is more than just sound, as the two brass bands of Wolder, for instance, prove. Both Harmonie Sint Petrus & Paulus and Koninklijke Harmonie Wilhelmina - popularly known as the 'Greune' and the 'Blouwe' respectively - are deeply rooted in the neighbourhood's social fabric. They accompany processions, organise concerts, educate youth and give colour to public life. Their existence is about community, generations and shared rhythm.

The Verkennersband Maastricht, originating from the scouting tradition, also makes that connection visible. As a marching band, it links youth, movement and music in parades and street performances where rhythm and ritual come together.

Music has a high street value in Maastricht. It often sounds at eye level. Jazz is played at café Forum, blues and roots rock at The Duke. In café In de Karkol and in Hallo Mestreeg the folk soul sings along loudly. The song of life peeks out through windows and doors. Singers like Beppie Kraft, Frans Theunisz and Erwin van het Merretkoer anchor a cultural memory. Not as folklore, but as an actual voice of a community. John Tana, for instance, is a popular fictional character. His music is a mixture of French covers and parody lyrics in a frenchified Maastricht dialect.

Music lives on different scales: in small halls and big theatres, in gardens, churches and factories. Each with its own audience, its own signature. Philzuid and Opera Zuid are established names, but there is also Opera Compact, which seeks and finds new ways. In Cultural Podium Lutherse Kerk, ethnic music and world music find a full stage.

The Muziekgieterij, located in a former industrial building, has also become indispensable. What started as a pop venue has grown into a production house, breeding ground and cultural engine. Festivals like 043 (indie pop), South of Heaven (metal) and Midsummer Prog (progressive rock) show just how broad the interest is. Bands like Yin Yin - who found support at the Muziekgieterij - play worldwide, but keep returning to the city that gave them birth.

DJ duo Lucas & Steve, formed by Lucas de Wert and Steven Jansen, started their musical collaboration in Maastricht and grew into a fixture on the international house and EDM scene. On the Spinnin' Records label, they released successful tracks such as Summer on You and Up Till Dawn, and were in DJ Mag's Top 100 for several years. Despite their global career, the connection with Maastricht remains palpable - for instance, they performed at Oranjenacht on the Vrijthof square.

Besides pop, classical and popular culture, there is room for innovation and experimentation. Intro in Situ, a pioneer in contemporary music and sound art for forty years, is a pioneer in this field.

Once founded by Paul Coenjaerts, now housed in the cultural centre AINSI - in the former ENCI factory - hosts makers who question and recreate the soundscape.

Conservatorium Maastricht plays a key role in the musical fabric of the city. The sounds of young musicians mingle with the urban din. What is practised there is heard elsewhere. This creates an ecosystem in which music can grow, flourish and be passed on. This process starts at an early age. Thanks to initiatives such as the Junior Programme and the Junior Do Days of Conservatorium Maastricht, children are introduced to music in a playful way. Through music lessons at school, music schools and institutions like Kumulus, a complete chain develops, culminating in professional training and lifelong involvement. Talent development is not an afterthought here, but foundation.

A central figure in the classical spectrum is Hans Leenders. As cantor-organist of the Basilica of Our Lady and conductor of the Basilica Choir, Consort and Schola Cantorum, he has been a pillar of sacred music culture for decades. He also conducts professional ensembles such as Studium Chorale and Kamerkoor Maastricht. Since his appointment as city composer in 2025, he has been working on projects linking classical expertise to today's living world - with compositions, programmes and educational programmes for amateurs, students and professionals. At Conservatorium Maastricht he is principal study teacher in organ and choral conducting. Leenders moves with natural authority between heritage and experiment, between voice and space.

Another telling example of musical versatility in Maastricht is pianist Coen van Dam. He moves effortlessly between jazz, pop and improvisation, is both soloist and accompanist, composer and arranger. In café sessions, at festivals and in small-scale productions, he is a familiar face. Not from ostentatious profiling, but from an infectious love of music. His performances are often low-threshold, without sacrificing quality. You can hear the city in his playing: open, rhythmic, always moving.

Music does not let itself be locked up and certainly not in Maastricht. This is evident from festivals such as Musica Sacra Maastricht, which connects music, religion and visual art in the public space. Or from Borrel Noten, a summer festival in the Faliezusterspark with a wide range of performances - from acoustic and intimate to exuberant and large-scale. The international festival Vocallis, which this year musically explores the theme of 'happiness', also testifies to the city's stratification. And then there are the unexpected places, such as the monastery chapel Opveld: a new hotspot where candlelight concerts, singing recitals and rehearsals alternate. A quiet enclave with sparkling acoustics. Here, voices resound in candlelight, while outside the city pulses.

On 22 October, the international company The Diamond Baritones will bring a musical show to Theater aan het Vrijthof. Their adventure began in 2024 at Holland's Got Talent, where they enchanted audience and jury. The Diamond Baritones, consists of singers Jop van Gennip, Galen Dole (alumnus Conservatorium Maastricht), Kyle Bejnerowicz and pianist Conrad Nuyts (alumnus Conservatorium Maastricht). Accompanied by André Rieu, they developed their own style - from Puccini to Queen, from The Greatest Showman to Hazes - a musical journey full of humour, emotion and dance, with guest appearances by The Sapphire Sopranos and other surprises.

Maastricht is a city of many sizes and voices. Those voices speak, sing, tell. Sometimes softly, sometimes loudly, but always with conviction. Music is not an afterthought here. It is core. A form of respect, a way of giving meaning to moments, to places, to each other.

The city is a sound box in which everything resonates: the melancholy of a Gregorian chant, the irony of a carnival cracker, the dreaminess of a chanson, the growl of a guitar, the precision of a fugue. No genre is excluded. Everything has a right to exist, as long as it has something to say. Those who listen in Maastricht hear a city that sings itself over and over again. No sales pitch, no smooth tone, but a living, breathing musical identity.