Programme-ENG

Snowman meets Frozen – Winter Family Concert with Film and Live Orchestra and Choir

On Sunday afternoon, 28 December, you can enjoy a special winter family concert by the Bataafs Symphonic Orchestra and The Hague Sailors’ Choir in the main concert hall of Amare.

The programme begins with a swinging medley from Frozen. Feeling warmed up? Then we’ll introduce you to the instruments in the orchestra. Not too long, because everyone is here for the music and the film, of course! After a few heart-warming winter carols from the choir, it is time for the film The Snowman, with live accompaniment by the orchestra and choir. When the last notes of The Snowman are gone, we’ll keep you in a warm winter mood with a surprising and fun finale for everyone. Let’s get those feet moving!

Read more about the programme, the orchestra, and the choir below.

We wish you a lot of musical joy!

Bataafs Symphonic Orchestra
The Hague Sailors’ Choir

The Programme

Medley from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
The Snowman – Howard Blake
The Snowman is a picture book by Raymond Briggs, and was first published in 1978.

The pictures tell the story of a little boy who builds a snowman that comes to life at night and rings the little boy’s doorbell. Together they get up to all sorts of mischief in and around the house, even going for a wild ride on a motorcycle. Can you imagine?

Ultimately, they fly through the air to the North Pole, over distant lands, high mountains, and deep seas. At the North Pole, they visit Santa Claus and his reindeer. They celebrate with other snowmen and then fly back home. The little boy goes to bed and wakes up – was it all a dream?

An animated film of the book, with its beautiful hand-painted illustrations, was created in 1982. In keeping with the book, the film has no dialogue. It is shown on English television every year around Christmas. https://www.thesnowman.com

English composer and pianist Howard Blake wrote the film’s beautiful music. The central theme is the familiar song “Walking in the Air,” depicting the journey through the air. https://www.howardblake.com

In the programme we use the Dutch translation by Herman Pieter de Boer.

Shepherd’s Pipe Carol and Star Carol – John Rutter
The Shepherd’s Pipe Carol is a song about a shepherd boy on his way to Bethlehem. Along the way, he plays a tune on his shepherd’s pipe. The Star Carol is a cheerful song about the star that guides everyone to the stable where baby Jesus was born.

Both songs were written by John Rutter, an English composer. Rutter has conducted The Cambridge Singers, a professional chamber choir, since 1981. He wrote many Christmas carols with syncopated rhythms: the emphasis falls slightly differently than you might expect. https://johnrutter.com

About Bataafs Symphonic Orchestra

The Bataafs Symphonic Orchestra – Bataafs for short – has been creating musical connections in The Hague and the surrounding area for over 100 years. Our members are enthusiastic amateur musicians aged 20 to 90+. Under the inspiring leadership of conductor Arne Visser, we give two large concerts each year in our home town The Hague. We also perform a few smaller concerts in public spaces.

Bataafs has a long-standing tradition of school concerts in all of the various neighbourhoods of The Hague. Each year, we present engaging programmes for a different primary school, such as Jungle Book, Tubby the Tuba, Cinderella, and Peter and the Wolf. These programmes introduce children to an orchestra and its instruments, and bring music within reach of students who don’t typically visit concert halls.
We also perform outside The Hague: various (mini)tours have taken us to Italy, Paris, Germany, Groningen, and Limburg, among other places.

Our repertoire is diverse and surprising. We perform classical, romantic, film, pop, and world music. https://bataafs.nl

Arne Visser – Conductor
Tuba player, conductor, and teacher Arne Visser is a versatile musician with broad interests and a wide range of activities. He has conducted orchestras such as De Ereprijs, ensembles from the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, the Residentie Orchestra, and various conservatoires.
He has also performed in pop concerts featuring Lakshmi, Pink Floyd bands, and Indian Bollywood singers. In addition to his busy concert schedule, Arne teaches at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and its associated Jong KC (Young Royal Conservatoire), and serves on the jury of various competitions. https://arnevisser.com

Concert Master Xander Wassenaar
When Xander was five, he and his mother listened to Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto for hours. He was determined to play the violin.

Xander began pre-school violin lessons and in June 2025, he completed his bachelor’s degree at the
Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Xander wants to further develop as an orchestra conductor. He believes it is important to give a different twist to music, and wants to show what can be done with music beyond the traditional approaches.

About the Hague Sailors’ Choir

For almost 100 years, the Hague Sailors’ Choir has been an indispensable musical venue for boys singing together in a friendly atmosphere. The choir is the perfect stepping stone to a musical life. The musical team – Peter van der Leeuw and Leander Schoormans – contributes to the relaxed atmosphere and facilitates special musical challenges, such as the St. Matthew Passion with the Residentie Orchestra, Sailors’ Days, and, if possible, a trip abroad. https://matrozenkoor.nl

Peter van der Leeuw
Peter has been the conductor of The Hague Sailors’ Choir since early 2021. He completed a law degree, but after studying singing at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, music remained his greatest passion. He completed the Kurt Thomas Course for choir conductors and is currently taking orchestral conducting lessons.

As a singer, he is a valued member of the Netherlands Radio Choir and is the conductor of various choirs. Peter strives to convey the unifying power and beauty of music and singing to the boys of the Sailors’ Choir. He hopes that the boys will develop a lifelong love of singing and will always carry music with them. He enjoys sharing the unifying power of making music together in the choir.

Leander Schoormans
Leander is a versatile teacher, organist, composer, and conductor of the sopranos in The Hague Sailors’ Choir. He has a unique ability to draw the boys into the world of music through singing and acting and holds the interest of the older boys with his endless ideas for solfège lessons.

Leander regularly gives concerts, he conducts the Rijswijk Concert Choir, and is affiliated with the Utrecht Cathedral Choir School and the Breda Choir Academy. In his free time, he enjoys exploring Dutch music history.

Bataafs Symphonic Orchestra