All focus on the Roda hall and Theater Kerkrade
During the third weekend of the World Music Contest (WMC), the event's focus shifted entirely to the concert competitions held in the Roda hall and the theater. Fanfare and wind bands competed in various classes for the world titles. Here, too, exceptional musical highlights alternated with emotional moments on stage. The third weekend of the WMC served as the perfect prelude to the final weekend on August 1 and 2.
Battle of the Low Countries
Sunday set the stage for a true clash between neighbors: the Netherlands and Belgium. Three Dutch orchestras faced off against three Belgian. In a packed Roda hall, one musical highlight followed another. The atmosphere was electric during the awards ceremony, and the emotions by the new world champion—the Royal Fanfare Band Kempenbloei from Achel, conducted by Ivan Meylemans—was immense. Triple F Collective from the Netherlands finished second, trailing by 2.4 points. With this victory, Achel became the best Fanfare Band in the world for the fifth time in a row—a unique achievement in WMC history.
Narrow victory
In the First Division for wind bands, no fewer than 15 orchestras from Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands competed for the world title. Harmonie St. Cecilia Grevenbicht-Papenhoven claimed the title in this division with a score of 94.22 points. They narrowly defeated their rivals, Sinfonisches Blasorchester Perg (Austria), by a margin of 0.15 points.
3rd Division
Fourteen orchestras competed for the world title in the 3rd Division for wind bands. The competition took place over two days at the theater Kerkrade. During a highly atmospheric awards ceremony held in a packed Market Square, Banda Sinfónica Especial de Samacá from Colombia was crowned world champion.
New WMC Ambassador
At the start of the awards ceremony for the concert division Fanfare Bands, composer Jan Van der Roost was appointed as WMC ambassador. Earlier in the festival, this honor had also been bestowed upon composer Jan de Haan.
Blow! byWMC
In addition to the concert contests, the past few weekends have seen bustling activity at Blow!byWMC, held at the Market and in the City Park. The organizing body, the Kerkrade Events Collective (KEC) foundation, is particularly pleased with the atmosphere at the Market. "For three weekends now, we’ve seen the Market filled with people having a fantastic time; the atmosphere is relaxed, there have been no incidents, and everyone is enjoying themselves. As far as we’re concerned, it’s the perfect WMC summer in Kerkrade," said KEC board member Roel Roukens.
The City Park was also lively and busy over the past few weekends, according to Angelique Kerres, the organizer of Blow!byWMC in the park. "We’ve had some wonderful, varied evenings over the last few weekends that drew large crowds. We received a lot of positive feedback from our guests—something my team and I are very proud of. As an entrepreneur, you’re sticking your neck out a bit, so it’s great to see that effort appreciated."
Final weekend
The German Brass ensemble kicks off the final weekend of the 20th WMC with a unique concert in the Roda Hall. The final weekend of the WMC is dedicated to wind bands. Youth wind bands start on Thursday and Friday in the Theatre Kerkrade. The WMC concludes on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, with the concert division in the Roda Hall. All contests can be followed live by the VIDA-livestream; https://vidabywmc.nl/
There is also plenty of musical entertainment to enjoy during the final weekend at the Markt and in the City Park as part of Blow!byWMC.