The same goes for our world of music and show. The Beatrix Association has had many successes in the past few decades. In the 70’s and 80’s Jong Beatrix was a role model in the Netherlands for youth corps. These young people were given a thorough musical education so that the transition to the Beatrix Band was smooth. In this way the Beatrix Band also profited and got new members with a good basis to build further on the musical education. In that period young people didn’t think about quitting music at an age of 15. They were eager to make the step to the senior corps. Beatrix' has lived up to its name on a regular basis, not least because the club had a steady inflow of members that were into music from their 7th or 8th year and had a good basic education. This has worked for years until gradually the last "long stayers ' decided they want to do other things in their free time. Before you know it, you lose the focus on the continuity of the corps.
Without exaggerating, I can state that the time of constant inflow of young members is over. Also in our organization we are confronted with this, especially among the youth. The many possibilities offered by the current society for young people is unprecedented. Children who participate in a sport or musical program at the age of seven are not so common anymore. As an organization we have to put a lot of effort into getting members for Jong Beatrix and maintaining the member inflow of Beatrix’ Drum & Bugle Corps. The attention for a basic musical training has shifted towards getting new members to march along as soon as possible, so that the corps looks better on the streets and the field. Quantity has become more important than quality and this not the right path for the future.
The above development is one of the reasons for our current focus active recruiting and investment in a good musical training. Our challenge is to interest young people in a musical education. Unfortunately, we can no longer rely on the success in the past. We must simply start at the basis.
The board of directors of the Beatrix Association is aware of her responsibility to invest in the future and to continue working on the success factor. In September we have introduced a new long term vision, with as primary goal to recruit and invest in new members. An important thing to mention is that we have not only talked about it, but have also put plans into action. Last September, Jong Beatrix welcomed 22 new members, of which probably 15 members will continue to march next season. Last month, we also started a new program in cooperation with SKH after-school care. Children from 7 years, who are into the after-school care program, can learn the basics of making music in our corps hall, and we hope that we can interest them to join our organization as a member. This is also the main goal of our ‘Kids in the Band’ program.
These and many other measures should draw many new members to both Corps. Not only do we aim to attract new members, but also make music and show more accessible and more attractive to the public. The appreciation of the audience is, after all, an important part of being successful.
Gerard Eijlers
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