NL

STANDING STILL | I keep going and going

  • 24/11
In this graduation concert, Niels de Groot takes you on a journey towards STANDING STILL. Because how do you do that?
  • 07:30 PM - 08:45 PM
  • 24 Nov 2023
  • Stadsklooster, Kanaalstraat 198, 3531 CP Utrecht
STANDING STILL | I keep going and going
Do you ever stand still? To pause and listen to your own feelings? To see the people around you, or the opinion that you hold? In his graduation concert, Niels de Groot (Music in Education) takes you on a journey of discovery towards getting to STAND STILL. How to do this? Niels teams up with a choir of about 60 vocalists, most of whom are students of Music in Education from all years of study, along with some from the Classical course and from outside the academy. They are accompanied by music played in various settings.

Niels de Groot explains his graduation project:

'In my graduation concert, I try to make you discover the importance of standing still every once in a while. To listen to others, and yourself. And to think about how you want to express yourself towards others around you and to society as a whole.

Personally, I’ve been running forward for my whole life now. Only recently I’ve learned to deliberately stand still; trying to search myself. I discovered that you can only discover who you are and what you think if you occasionally stand and rest. Otherwise, you run past yourself. However, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. There is always something, some reason that makes me keep moving instead of STANDING STILL. ‘I just need to finish this thing’ or ‘this really needs to be done today’. ‘If I don’t prepare this now, I will fail’. And: ‘I like this, so why shouldn’t I be doing it?’

When I look around, I get the idea that I’m not the only one who has this. STANDING STILL will feel different for each of us. You will have to see for yourself what works for you. On this evening, I hope to make you realise the importance of STANDING STILL.

I am currently searching for the right balance between moving forward and STANDING STILL. One important factor me in this is singing together. This can evoke an indescribable feeling. It can lift you up, touch you somewhere deep inside your soul. You can’t put this into words; it needs to be experienced. I will gladly take you along in my journey towards getting there.’