In exactly three months, Festival STROOM will usher in summer with an enchanting mix of concerts and discussions in the Scheldt Valley between Ghent and Antwerp. For the third time, the festival moors along unique Flemish heritage pearls and green spots by the river. The artistic program raises awareness around the themes of sustainability, water and climate. Moreover, the festival takes place in the newly recognized National Park Scheldt Valley. A world premiere!
Spring is in the air: not by coincidence the perfect moment for Festival STROOM to announce its program. The festival once again offers remarkable artistic projects that have a direct link with the natural environment and elements that are strongly subject to the seasons.
The National Park Scheldt Valley forms the backdrop for thirteen sparkling concerts: Schubert's Forellenkwintet, Händel's Water Music or Haydn's grandiose Oratorium Die Schöpfung make their passage here. At STROOM you will also discover how Vivaldi's Four Seasons would sound in 2050 and the centuries-old Dendermonde Codex by Hildegard van Bingen comes back to life. In addition, free riverside concerts will be performed from a CO2-neutral sailing yacht at various jetties along the Scheldt, with the tides determining the start time.
The program is finally also interspersed with fascinating discussions and climate walks. This way visitors have the opportunity to learn more about biodiversity and water management in the region, but also about the impact the environment has on our body.
In centuries-old abbeys and enchanting castles
The opening concert in the Sint-Bernardusabdij of Hemiksem is entirely devoted to music for a sustainable future. The Berlin-based improvisation orchestra Stegreif digs through seven centuries of music for their Symphony of Change and bases itself on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
In the Sint-Pieters- en Paulusabdij of Dendermonde, where the Dendermonde Codex by composer and mystic Hildegard van Bingen was long preserved, the singers of Psallentes bring Hildegard's historical oeuvre back to life with polyphonic chants. The Nederlands Blazers Ensemble brings its own version of Haydn's famous oratorium Die Schöpfung in the recently renovated abbey of Bornem, together with Flemish top poet Bart Moeyaert.
Furthermore, the Festival zooms in deeper in Destelbergen and Heusden on the rich castle past of the Scheldt Valley. During the second weekend of STROOM, music lovers are immersed on the idyllic private estates in music by Schubert and Debussy, among others, but also in oriental compositions from Mesopotamia and Iran.
By the water and through the forest
Of course, the water of the Scheldt also forms the subject of a series of beautiful concerts this year. At the new Scheldepromenade in Wichelen, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen wraps Vivaldi's Four Seasons in a futuristic dress, where the impact of climate change resounds both audibly and tangibly. Under the twilight of the forest in Temse, a gentle summer evening rises close to nature with the voices of the male choir Ex Tempore.
And what orchestral music reflects water better than… Water Music? For two consecutive days, B'Rock lets Händel's masterpiece resonate the festive final chord of STROOM on the Spiegelvijver in Aalst.