Queen Máxima attended the signing of the Music Agreement Hoeksche Waard on Tuesday, as schools in the western region of the Netherlands agreed to work on musical education for their students.
“Music provides a structural basis for empathy, social bonding, quality of life, creativity, listening to each other and being open to differences,” according to the More Music in Classroom Foundation’s website.
“Music is everywhere, it is part of our daily life. In the classroom, it creates a positive school climate, in which students coordinate with each other. Music in the classroom is therefore not an optional choice, but necessary!”
The Foundation’s aim is to provide “structural music education for all 1.6 million primary school children in the Netherlands.”
On Tuesday, Queen Máxima joined in as schools in the Hoeksche Waard signed the agreement, which will teach 7,500 primary school students in the region.
At the signing ceremony, a unique online musical program was presented by More Music in the Classroom Ambassador Buddy Vedder. In person, students from regional schools, youth orchestras, the Music School and Pop School also performed for Queen Máxima and other officials.
After the signing ceremony, Queen Máxima spoke with the board members of various music schools about the state of musical education in South Holland, the province where Hoeksche Waard is located, and how the co-operation can help the schools moving forward.
The More Music in the Classroom Foundation works on three key areas to ensure that musical education is provided in schools: awareness, promotion of experts and teaching methods, and showcasing how music can be regional and local.
Queen Máxima is the Honorary Chair of the More Music in the Classroom Foundation and works with 18 other ambassadors to champion musical education. Other musical agreements have been signed through the Foundation in Limburg, Friesland, Zeeland, and Drenthe; as well as Liemers, Zutphen and Groningen.
