Austrian Alexander Just, Eurocrat by day and producer, singer and treasurer at the Brussels Light Opera Company (Bloc) by night, agrees: “Having this common passion and objective really does build friendships. We’re one big family of all kinds of nationalities and ages.”
While this large cultural and cross-generational diversity rings true to all the music initiatives mentioned here, types and skill levels vary. More advanced musicians looking for a bit of a challenge will feel at home at BSO, whose members include a former professional tuba player and conservatory graduates. If you pass the mandatory audition, you’ll be able to take a crack at masterpieces by Ravel or Mussorgsky, and perform in venues such as Paris’s La Madeleine church or the Nato headquarters. In 2011, the BSO even went on a one-week tour through China. “Creating music in a large group can be exhilarating,” Wiklander-Williams says. “It’s such a rewarding experience.”
The BSO is not the only group requiring new members to audition, to ensure a certain level of excellence. Levke King is the president of the Brussels Choral Society, an ambitious amateur choir that brings together more than 100 music lovers from 21 countries and has sung at high-profile events such as a Belgian royal wedding and at London’s Royal Albert Hall. “If you’ve never sung before, this is probably not right for you,” she says. “But if you know how to read sheet music and have sung in a college or church choir, don’t be afraid to audition.”
If this still sounds slightly too daunting, or classical music is not really up your alley, the Brussels Concert Band might be a good option. Originally a fanfare band founded by local farmers in Haren back in 1877, it has evolved into an international, high-quality American-style big band performing classics by Glenn Miller and Count Basie, as well as pop hits by everyone from Stevie Wonder to Bruno Mars, in venues such as Brussels’ Grand’Place, Ancienne Belgique and Bozar.