Who wouldn't want to experience it: celebrating your birthday during a concert by the Alphens Cossack Choir? That happened to 90-year-old Wim Scholte: flowers and a full church that sings to you.
On Sunday afternoon, February 12, the Alphens Cossack choir entered the church singing. The audience was immediately captivated by this unexpected turnout. Then followed some beautiful orthodox chants. After the solo performance of bass Klaas Schulp with the moving “Gorie, gorie moja zwezda”, conductor Arkadi Gankin let his bajan, a button accordion, speak with the melancholic “Oblivion” by the Argentinian composer Astor Piazolla. Subsequently, the audience was presented with another first: “Rewe ta stognje”, a Ukrainian hymn to the mighty Dnieper River.
After the break, the Cossacks, with the support of Sheila Moens (bajan), Nathalya Shevcenko (balalaika) and Trudi Bos (flute), treated the audience mainly to romantic and cheerful songs until “Amurski wolnie”, a beautiful waltz about the great river the Volga, was on the agenda.
The birthday soloist Wim Scholte was announced by lady speaker Anneke van Leeuwen and after the end of the song he became the center of the celebration: showered with congratulations and flowers. The enthusiastic audience immediately started singing “Long live” and the choir closed this joyful event with “Mno gaja ljeta” (Long live).
With the rousing “Sjto tak skoetsjno” as an encore, the Alphens Cossack Choir bade farewell to the enthusiastic audience in the Meije.