Andre Rieu's Column In Eigen Bedrijf - October, 2010
Andre Rieu spends about 120
concerts in dozens of countries on five
continents. Andre Rieu at the company
Productions has 120 employees
who are his wife Marjorie and son
Pierre. He is among the top ten
top selling artists worldwide tour.
In 2009 he finished six spot,
even for world artists such as Britney
Spears, Beyonce and Coldplay.
(used with permission - Eigen Bedrijf Magazine Kamer VanKoophandel)
Flexible rules
In the previous issue I wrote you all that we were bringing a South African
Children's choir to the Netherlands to the Vrijthof Concerts in July. I
tell you: it worked! And I'm very proud of that. Tonight is the third concert with sixty South African children between twelve and fifteen years and it's
phenomenal.
The idea came when I was in a township in May at Houtbay / Cape Town and
I was struck by the joy with which the children made music
and by the appalling conditions in which they live. I invited the
choir from one of my concerts in Cape Town to attend and they did.
After they began spontaneously singing for us backstage and it was like a
big party. "You must come to Maastricht," I cried in my enthusiasm.
They looked at me puzzled. "Say that it is in Europe, the Netherlands, my son
Pierre whispered in my ear, and when I said that they fell over. And not only them ... "Our Frans Neus, responsible for guest appearances and special
projects, turned white when he saw what was coming: "How do I get sixty children
and guides to the Netherlands without a passport? "
It turned out not so bad. "Only" thirty children had no passport or
birth certificate. Do you imagine: these people are not living in a technical area.
We had a contact for the Foreign Affairs Office and also our partner in South Africa helped us get in touch with the South African Government, which also was very willing. To obtain a birth certificate requires a father and a mother. The mother was typically found, but the father? It could be the brother or
the neighbor or an uncle, in short, we are pleased that the government showed some flexibility regarding the rules. On the day of the general rehearsal
we were with the choir in Maastricht and it was a great moment.
Not always we are in the countries where we perform when we are treated with courtesy and as much forthcoming responsiveness. I remember the tour in the U.S. In 2007 with three private buses, which we crossed all the United States
Into New Mexico, our buses were removed from the road by the Border Patrol. We did not have the right papers and had to use all our persuasion to ensure that our Dutch driver would not spend a night in jail. In no state did we previously experience problems, but this agent was adamant for reasons that I am to this day unclear. We eventually needed to hire buses to pick us up and take us
to the concert location. I mean, in a society rules are needed, but for a society to function happily a little flexibility is indispensable at the proper time.
André Rieu
I'm so pleased that Andre' is back to tweeting always looking for updates on His health & just generally How He's doing, he gives us so much, Thank You hardly seems enough He is much loved & enjoyed by my daughter & self, bless you Andre'
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What André did for those African children was super duper!!! Yes the border crossing can be now-a-days a pain in the but, of course understandable with all the terror attacks, but some also are on a power trip, have seen it myself. I had a visa for the US for life but now I have to write all my credentials every 3 months on a long list and wait, so I get tired of border crossing, the US is only 100 km away from us in Montréal, but I rather fly to Europe, it is much easier.
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I agree Inge, that was a great thing for Andre to do for those kids. They are so talented and needed a break.
Speaking of border guards, when we crossed into Canada we had the worst guy we have ever met. He acted like a drill sergeant and was so mad at Clyde because he slipped a little past the stop sign when he stopped. We had to tell him where we were going and even who we were seeing (we were going to see Andre in Toronto) and how long we would be there. I was thinking that I would not want to stay too long if he is typical of the people there. Luckily he was not. Everyone was very nice to us. So it depends on who you get when you cross the border.
Thanks for the latest photos Inge. I will put them on the blog for all to see. I will take any and all photos of Andre from anywhere at anytime - in other words everything you have haha! Hugs to you
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