Three weeks ago, I went to the Reel Cinema in Borehamwood to see Andre Rieu’s Christmas concert. Even though I’ve been following him on social media for a while and seen snippets of his concerts online, I’ve never experienced a whole concert and was intrigued to find out why my Mum used to love watching his concerts.

Even though I was one of the younger ones in the audience at the cinema, live at the concert however, there were lots of little ones and older children who attended the concert live whether it was with one parent or both, or grandparents – there were lots of couples, lots of people went with their loved ones, their friends or families, all generations, to enjoy the beautiful, uplifting, soulful music they were about to listen to live in the city of Maastricht.

Andre Rieu is a great guy, he is very down to earth as well as at the same time holding a big space – and a safe, inclusive one too – for everyone to experience his brilliant musical creations.

Everyone was free to enjoy the music as they wished, which showed up differently for everyone in their own unique way, and everyone had an amazing time. He said something poignant in between songs whilst he was talking about the fact that his orchestra members and soloists come from thirteen different nations, and that was “if we all made music together”, like the music being made at this event, “then imagine what kind of world we could create”. Just imagine if there was much more peace, love and joy in the world… only good can ever come from this place.

Every moment of the show was carefully thought out, the mood of each song was captured well by all the dancers in their colourful dresses and costumes who waltzed into the theatre, and the loving atmosphere that was created by Andre Rieu and his team of amazing musicians who all brought a piece of their heart and soul to the production. There were so many people in the orchestra, in the brass band, many dancers all around the room all dressed up in their beautiful, vibrant costumes, some on the ice-skating rink but most of them were scattered all over the theatre, making the audience feel like they were part of the show.

There were lots of funny moments in the audience during some of the songs being played, including a Strauss piece that kept getting faster and faster whilst people danced with the flow and vibe that the music created. Lots of smiles, tears of joy and connection, and generally overall, lots of joy and childlike wonder in the room as the atmosphere in the room intensified. I loved the way he kept teasing the audience when they clearly weren’t going anywhere and wanted their encores which was essentially a large part of the performance too. From then on, I loved how the positive, joyful vibes skyrocketed as the audience danced freely and happily amongst themselves without a care in the world and focusing on putting all their energy into singing and dancing to the music being played in the festive spirit of Christmas.

The atmosphere was divine, you could see how much fun everyone was having by the look on their faces.

It wasn’t quite the same watching it at the cinema because I did want to get up and dance (the thought was there at least). I loved how the flurry of balloons dropped out of nowhere onto the audience around the time the song “All I want for Christmas is you” was being sung by the incredible Emma Kok  – I had to make-do with clapping and “feeling the beat” in my cinema seat. I also loved all the atmospheric add-ons too like all the fake snow that fell on the entire audience during the rendition of the popular Frozen song “Let it go” which I never seem to tire of and get out of my head – it’s also a great karaoke song!

At the end of the show, I left with a feeling of joy knowing I’ve finally been in my Mum’s shoes and experienced an Andre Rieu concert for myself after all these years. It made me wonder what my Mum was like at these concerts. She was always quite modest so I can’t see her getting up and dancing but I’m sure she loved listening to it all and was one of those women who shed a few tears here and there, tears of joy, tears of compassion, tears of love and joy, all of it. There was a guy there who played the pan flute beautifully, Michel Tirabosco, who plays the famous Star Wars: Attack of the Clones together with Andre Rieu and his amazing orchestra without hands. It really was a beautiful performance all in all – one day I hope to experience this concert live and have added this to my bucket list of musical experiences I would like to try out and experience for myself.

If you would like to watch the concert, it is now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SOm_UnS-HM4

And here is a taste of the atmosphere in the room: https://youtu.be/rC7IsX_muok

Merry Christmas everyone to all those celebrating at this time of year! Wishing you much peace and happiness for the year ahead. Blessings to you all.