Musical activities for young people
Music plays a key role in the development of individuals and societies: it contributes to the development of intellectual and manual skills, as well as personality, and has a positive influence on the cohesion of the groups that experience music together. In Luxembourg, the organisation of workshops and festivals for children and adolescents is a fun initiation to a formal education in music. Here is our selection of musical activities, both face-to-face and digital, aimed at young audiences!
Family activities to inspire toddlers
Kids' Phil, the Philharmonie's children's programme, is expanding all the time and we invite you to have a look at it too.
The Kulturhaus Niederanven is also offering musical activities for children June and July 2024: make a note in your diary. This year's Fête de la musique takes place on Saturday 15th June, starting at 11.00 a. m.
Just like Caku, the cultural programme for children organised at the Centre des Arts Pluriels Ettelbruck and the Mierscher Kulturhaus. Regularly check the programme of events!
In Clervaux, the Funky Donkey Festival is planning activities for families on Saturday 31st August 2024. The programme has not yet been unveiled, but there will be shows for the little ones and a food- village.
Don't miss the Hip Hop Marathon, ideal for kids aged 12 and older
For several years, the Hip Hop Marathon has been the unmissable event for young people who want to develop their knowledge of hip-hop culture via the creation of rap songs, graffiti murals, hip-hop choreography and learning beatbox, a technique which consists of making music by imitating instruments with your vocal chords and through singing.
This year, the event will be held in a number of different locations from June onwards:
- the CAPE – Centre des arts pluriels Ettelbruck, Thursday 6th June 2024, at 10 a.m.
- the Rockhal, Wednesday 12th June 2024, from 10 a.m. onwards.
More to discover on the digital music scene
Although many stakeholders in the Luxembourg cultural sector have embraced digital media for several years, the health crisis has prompted a re-imagining of the range of musical activities for young audiences, which have multiplied since the spring of 2020.
For many years the Philharmonie has been committed to developing a range of digital content aimed at children of all ages:
- "D'Loopino saust duerch héich Wellen" is a musical audio book for children from 3 years old. Echoing to the rhythms of Mendelssohn, Bartholdy, Piazzola and Schumann, among others, young children can meet the inhabitants of the sea with the hero Loopino and his friends. The Philharmonie has developed a project based on this hero; it also offers many complementary videos presenting creative and songs. It's a fabulous opportunity not only for children who speak Luxembourgish at home but also for those who are learning this language: the combination of music and language works a treat!
- Do you want to want to discover the instruments used by the orchestra and even build your own mini instruments? The Orchesterinstrumente entdecken mit Juri series of videos (in German) is worth a visit; it also offers tips on how to make a drum using everyday objects.
The concert series for young audiences Be A HEAR(o), organised by the Rocklab, is also available online. Both educational and entertaining, these videos, aimed at children aged between 9 and 12 invite them to discover and explore the world of pop/rock music from the backstage of a concert at the Rockhal and to get acquainted with the concepts of rhythm, melody and harmony.
Rocklab is expanding its digital service with a series of videos, subtitled in French and English, offering you tips, games and easy-to-use websites on how to have fun making music. Don't miss the videos Rocklab for Youngstars and Rocklab New Generation.
Also, the Department for the Coordination of Educational and Technological Research and Innovation (SCRIPT, in French), an entity of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, has developed several didactic tools to support musical education in schools; they are also available to other interested parties:
- The Zinglibooks e-books have been designed to preserve the music and texts of Luxembourg's heritage.
- The Mir maache Musek project aims to foster innovative activities in the field of music education.
- The Didactic booklets – De Litty aims to raise awareness amongst young people of the cultural life in Luxembourg; they were developed in collaboration with the Musical documentation centre of The National Library of Luxembourg, where they are available. Le "De Litty 5: Klassech Musek zu Lëtzebuerg" booklet is dedicated to classic music. A special edition has been created with Zentrum fir politesch Bildung, which shines a light on the history of Luxembourg from 1830 to 1945 through a representative selection of folk songs: "De Litty 7: Lëtzebuerger Fräiheetslidder – Geschicht a Politik am Lidd".
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