Today no instruments are used and we do not sing, all because of corona. Instead of that, we use our chest, cheeks and hands as an instrument and wave and tear pieces of paper to produce all sorts of rhythms and sounds. This way, Lucas Dols and Maite van der Marel of Sounds of Change show us a glimpse of what they do in the workshops they offer to young refugees all over the world. At the end of the session, we join them in an Arabic song, composed by young refugees in a Palestinian refugee camp.

Before and after that, famous harp player Lavinia Meyer plays for us in her intense and enchanting style. It silences us all. First she performs a self-written composition, later followed by the traditional Korean folk song Arirang. Lavinia was adopted from South Korea and maintains close ties with her country of origin. Even the fact that a string breaks during her performance doesn’t disturb her.

It is the first live meeting of The Present since the outbreak of the corona virus. The number of attendees is therefore limited, we have to wash our hands and keep distance. But the atmosphere is as good as ever. And that leads to great projects straightaway - Michiel de Gooijer announces that he is going to make a BrightVibes video about Sounds of Change and Mathys van Abbe includes Sounds of Change in his donation widget for Beirut, the Lebanese city that was hit by a devastating explosion later that day.

Marnix ends the meetup by thanking Yassine Boussaid and Martin Keereweer of De Meervaart, who selflessly offered their accommodation, and Robert-Jan Glas, Marjolein Aarten, Renée Doorn and Eyas Hafez, who photographed and filmed the meetup.

After the meetup, as we sip our drinks, our heads and hearts are still full of music.

Join our next meetup in October!