Driven by shared enthusiasm and a sense of adventure, the musicians who make up the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble (NBE) pursue their own brand of musical theatre, which resists easy pigeonholing. NBE plays music of all times, genres and cultural backgrounds, as long as it stimulates the senses and stirs up the imagination.

On stage, the ensemble is known for its tireless energy and mischievous sense of fun. And through the years, countless musicians, composers, poets, writers, actors, dancers, directors, designers and artists from all corners of the globe have found each other through the NBE’s pioneering, pan-cultural productions.

There is a natural connection between the NBE and youths, students, amateurs and young composers. Their educational programme reaches from introducing children to music and collaborations with local amateur music societies to coaching promising young talent at the highest level.

The NBE has already motivated thousands of children and youth to compose their own music and perform it together! The education programme covers everything from getting acquainted with music to coaching young top talent.
For over 20 years, the composition competition “On the way to the New Year’s Concert” has been a tradition, with a different theme each year, under the motto “anything goes and anything is possible, as long as you’ve created it yourself”. The young composers’ competition was the start of and became the foundation for a comprehensive talent development programme for young top talent. Meanwhile, there are also four active young talent ensembles of increasing ages and levels. The essence is to make music, as a composer and/or musician.