Symphony for one hundred citizens and a traffic light
With Symphony for one hundred citizens and a traffic light, I created in collaboration with Heleen Van Haegenborgh a large-scale urban symphony of daily urban sounds. We worked with one hundred city dwellers from all corners of Antwerp, each of whom played their own ‘instrument’. On stage there were no violins, woodwinds or drums, but cars with rumbling engines, a sunny outdoor café with clinking glasses, barking dogs, a wheeled suitcase bumping over the cobblestones, a singing street guitarist, a road worker using a drill, a clock striking 12, chirping birds…. Taken together, all of these instruments on the stage of the Blauwe Zaal in DE SINGEL formed a sculptural collage of the city.
Its structure was that of a classical symphony and the sounds were be treated as instrumental groups with transparency and clarity, contrast, variation, themes, etc. Besides being a musical performance of an artistically high-quality, professional composition, this project was a unifying, community-building event in which very diverse people from the city’s different communities came together to make music. Symphony for one hundred citizens and a traffic light was an urban portrait, an aural collage of the city that attempted to formulate an answer to John Cage’s question: “Which is more musical, a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing by a music school?”
That is the beautiful thing about the microcosm of an orchestra. Nobody cares which of the second violins plays the most beautifully. That is humbling, and that is what this is about for me as well: how can you come together today – now that solidarity has become a dirty word – and make music together? There is nothing more beautiful than forming a consonance with others.
— Katherina Lindekens
2025, Symphony for one hundred citizens and a traffic light, performance © Wannes Cré and Dieter Daniëls
Credits
Concept, direction: Thomas Verstraeten
Composition: Heleen Van Haegenborgh
Musical performance: Niki Schwartzmans, Anne-Marie Eestermans, Jonas Willems, Amy Willems, Walter Verhoeven, Wendy Verhoeven, Peter Apers, Nick Apers, Kristof Oosterlynck, Joris De Rocker, Louka Stouten, Bob De Cleene, Eduardo Parente, Isa Opstaele, Karen Wellens, Konstantina Perouli, Rudi Mannaerts, Sarah Graves, Chipok Lee, Ghazal Faghihi, Tim Vercauteren, Koen Van Caesbroeck, Amber Vercauteren, Hubert Verberckmoes, Zoe Markle, Nina Pffeirnuland, Mohsine Elmostapha, Jari Wyckmans, Wout Goossens, Hiu Fung Chan, Wim Van den Eede, Som Thanet, Ryan Limbourg, Luc Verlooy, Stijn Decuypere, Matthijs Lanckriet, Moad El Bragga, Imran Chafki, Jesser Sbai, Barra Sbai, Daniel Lukweyna, Ayoub Belkhait, Mahira Kamilia Aboulaye, Selina Idrizi, Mira Adwun, Nanoush Idrizi, Sabah Abouazoum, Yalila Elianor Aboulaye, Anna Svetlakova, Paulus Qucam, Kristof Ishak, Murra Bossier, Dimi Klink, Mohammed Attagzouti, Axelle Flamang, Wissam El Ahmad, Koen Van Assche, Assane Dossou Gouin, Christine Assomou, Dossou Gouin Ousseynou, Asia Ali, Amber Ghadari, Inga Godeo, Bing Thé, Owna Figueirado, Michael Houston, Jef Chroneos, Nathanaël Verdonck, Briseis Goris, Shaggy, Dirk Van Bel, Linus Coart, Luca Kortekaas, Victor Janzen, Nienke Luring, Lovely Wauters, Sara Vanhasselt, Kieran Peeters, Eva Kalemi, Christo Aganostu, Sarah Graves, David Lehmann, Lisa Van Osselaer, Herman Van Osselaer, Billie Geraedts, Goedele De Veuster, Alix Giboulot, Noor Rouwens, Nolan Ehlers, Huichi Li, Marta Medan, Kaat Anna Phora, Leander Vertriest, Kenny De Backer, Ageeba Kromah, Mounir Aberkane, Rayan Arbi, Aya Kardal, Ali Choopaninejad, Daime So, Ramin So, Kenny De Baeke, Oliver Defossez, Willy Vermeiren, Monique Vermeiren, Paula Vluymans, Josée Montmirail, Kristel Kaers, Nikki Poppelaars, Eranuhi Hovhannesian, Michiel de Maeseneer, Sebastian De Hond, Tomas Ntam, Chaste Mizero, Sara Bouhout, Lut Reysen, Jacob Krüger, Roberto Fontanella, Xiaocheng Wang, Siyi Xia and others
Musical direction: Tom De Cock
Dramaturgy: Katherina Lindekens, Seckou Ouologuem
Lighting design: Ken Hioco
Outreach: Adel Setta
Production management: Kristien Borgers
Technical production management: Sibren Hanssens
Lighting technician: Lies Van Loock
Sound technician: Roel Snellebrand
Set technician: Ward Van den Bossche
Wardrobe: Kathleen Van Mechelen
Head of set workshop: Luk Willekens
Set construction: Decoratelier Toneelhuis, Luk Willekens, Niels Antonissen, Chris Reijnen, Patrick Jacobs, Senne Suls
Interns: Inez Van Eetvelt, Mik Basiouny
Production management DE SINGEL: Rosalie Bas
Directing assistant intern: Kobe Debie
Technical coordination: Sam Verlinden
Animal handler: Animal Casting Belgium
Film crew: Lynn Van Oijstaeijen, Arno Weijdema, Loïc Meulenberg, Jan Bosteels, Simon Cools Fierlafijn, Bram Lievens, Manuel Janssens
Special thanks to: KRAS Noord, ATF, Deca Dance, Studentenvereniging Dionysos, De Propere Spiegel, AZ Monica, City of Antwerp Parks Department, City of Antwerp Sanitation Department, Wolf Pack, Okra Linkeroever, Saint Andrew’s Church
Production: Toneelhuis (Antwerp)
Co-production: DE SINGEL, De Warande (Turnhout)
With the support of: the Belgian Federal Government’s Tax Shelter measure via LOOK@LEO, Creative Europe: UNLOCK THE CITY!, and the players of the National Lottery