Marching bands in Kerkrade compete in tight formations for the world title. ‘You’ve been working towards this for four years’

About sixty musicians march in a disciplined manner out of the Parkstad Limburg Stadium of football club Roda JC. No one gets out of line. Not a foot steps even a few inches outside the unit. The looks straight ahead.

The tambour-maître (the ‘conductor’ of the orchestra) orders them to stop. Time for rest. The formation breaks immediately, in form and emotionally. Musicians fall into each other’s arms, crying. They have been practicing for it for months. Now the Christian music association Kunst en Genoegen (K&G) from Leiden has organized a march of military precision.

The Leiden marching band – a moving fanfare – has just performed the march on the lawn of the stadium, in front of a cheering audience. With drums and a collection of (mainly brass) wind instruments, the orchestra played for the world title in the marching competition in Kerkrade.

The world championship is organized by the World Music Competition (WMC), an international wind music festival that takes place every four years in Kerkrade. The WMC is what the Nijmegen Four Days Marches is for walkers: with around fifty thousand visitors, the size is comparable. In addition to the marching competition, the WMC organizes world championships in fanfare, harmony and percussion. The event has existed for 75 years and has had twenty editions.

The World Marching and Show Championships are the WMC’s largest competition with 7,500 visitors on Saturday and 12,500 on Sunday.

There are three prizes to be won in three categories in the marching and show competitions. In the marching competitions, sixteen marching bands in the highest class compete for the win, ten of which come from the Netherlands. The other six come from Germany, Poland and Thailand. Twelve bands will test their strength in the show category: ten from the Netherlands and two from Japan and Taiwan. Kunst en Genoegen participates in two parts: ‘march’ and ‘show’. The march is all about tight marching and the show focuses more on variation and dance.

The march of the people of Leiden was a spectacle of unprecedented accuracy. Dressed in blue uniforms, their faces tense with concentration beneath their white caps, the band members marched in formation. Step by step they played the slow game Nothing Else Matters from rock band Metallica. Then they pressed into a compact formation, on the mighty Master Of Puppets they moved forward menacingly. The audience cheered along to the rhythm of the music.

“Insane. This is really a relief,” says trumpet player Yesper Monfils after the march. “It had to go right the first time.” That worked. “This gives us a chance to win the world title.”

Championship favorite

Four years ago, Nishihara High School from Okinawa, Japan won in the show section. A formidable opponent in that category for the people of Leiden. The Katwijk music association Door Vriendschap Sterk (DVS) also has a chance to win the first prize in the show category. But the Katwijkers are even more dangerous for the people of Leiden in the march part: DVS is the championship favorite and defending champion in the march.

“We played a good march,” says DVS sousaphone player Tom Plug. Dressed in green uniforms, the sixty musicians wait in the parking lot in front of the stadium. In twenty minutes Door Vriendschap Sterk will perform her show piece. Plug: “Exciting? Yes. But we are all doing this together. Sixty men and a team of forty around it. We are one with the group.”

The thunderous applause that the orchestra receives upon entry reveals that the Katwijkers are champion favorites. ‘Die-hard’ fans of DVS take up an entire section. They are dressed in green, shout ‘champions’ and wave flags with ‘DVS’ on them. It characterizes the audience: the Dutch bands in particular have their own supporters in the stands, who loudly sympathize.

In the show performance, DVS pays tribute to Beethoven. A band member sits down behind a piano on a small stage: Moonlight Sonata sounds. Smooth and precise, the formation of the orchestra takes on all kinds of different shapes as you play.

“I get all kinds of compliments from people I don’t know, so I think it went well,” says DVS trumpet player and pianist Timo Ketting after the show. “How I feel now? Euphoric. You’ve been working towards this for four years and in the last four months we trained four times a week.”

Champions

But the euphoric mood is short-lived. A little later the green music army stands defeated around their bus. They finished in second place in the marching section with a minimal difference. “A lot of disappointment,” says DVS trumpet player Joas Schuitemaker. “You work towards this for four years and then you lose by half a point.” The Katwijkers came third in the show section. The band members look defeated, but DVS chairman Edwin Durieux remains positive: “I am very proud!”

The mood among the people of Leiden is completely different. Art and Pleasure conquers two titles: in both the march and the show. The Japanese must acknowledge their Leiden superiors with a second place at the show. Two gold medals: an exceptional result in this championship. “This cannot be expressed in words,” says a beaming Monfils. “Our last championship was in 2013. I wasn’t there then. Now we have it twice and I am there. I really need a while to let this sink in. We are going to Leiden tonight to have a party!”