Fragile earth

Brass players and singers give a musical tribute to our vulnerable planet set to the famous text by South African writer Antjie Krog.

The Iona Stichting and the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble have joined forces for the music project ‘Fragile Earth’. There will be a tour in October 2026 involving school choirs, and an educational package will also be made available for amateur choirs and orchestras, so that soon all of the Netherlands will be singing and playing for our planet.

The entire text of Krog’s ‘Fragile Earth’ is being set to music by composer Fant de Kanter. The piece conveys that humans and the Earth are one. School and amateur choirs join in on stage with the professional singers of Studium Chorale, because our planet is their future Earth. Soloist Christianne Stotijn completes this world premiere.

The message from the Earth is becoming increasingly urgent, showing us that humans and the Earth are inextricably connected. Krog begins with the line: “how can we care for the planet if we do not care for each other, how can we care for each other if we do not care for the planet?” With the oratorio ‘Fragile Earth’, we want to emphasize the idea of unity with the Earth. Through the music and with the music, the performers, the audience, and the singers are brought into a new unity. From the collaboration comes beauty. A form of collaboration that we must also find with the Earth if we want to protect it and ourselves in our vulnerability. This project is meant to celebrate the Earth, but also to raise awareness of its fragility.

De Kanter translates Krog’s engaged poetry into a musical language that connects different styles and cultures, making the work accessible to a wide audience. The NBE, with its tradition of social involvement, wants this project to involve not only professional musicians but also amateur choirs, newcomer choirs, and young people. In developing and carrying out the educational program around Fragile Earth, NBE and Studium Chorale are working together with the Music Teacher Training program at Hogeschool Leiden. The composition will also be available in a version for amateur choirs, freely accessible online. Thanks to this, the impact of the project reaches far beyond the tour.

Tour
October 7                  premiere preview at Podium Mozaïek in Amsterdam
October 11                PHIL Haarlem
October 15                Amare in The Hague

October 16                PLT Theater Heerlen
October 17                Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam
October 20                Musis in Arnhem
October 22                TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht

Ticket Sales
Keep an eye on the website of the Nethelands Blazer Ensemble for ticket sales.

Partners
Dutch Blazers Ensemble
Iona Stichting
Composer Fant de Kanter
Mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn
Chamber Choir Studium Chorale
Leiden University of Music Teacher Training