The Jostiband Orchestra

Location: Zwammerdam

Challenge: Various Disabilities

Website: www.jostiband.nl

The secret of the Jostiband Orchestra remains a mystery. As the largest music group of intellectually disabled in the world, this group from Zwammerdam has been playing music with great success for more than fourty years.

The orchestra gives concerts, performs abroad and no one is able to put into words how and why the Jostiband Orchestra manages to stir up so much enthusiasm and emotion. First and foremost are the orchestra members themselves who, in spite of their handicap, play music full of passion. They generate amazement and admiration on the part of the audience. In addition to this is the effect of the music they play, and music remains a mysterious art form.

The Josti Band arose from the Johannes Foundation in Nieuwveen as a music club.

The intellectually handicapped residents could come and play music in the occupational therapy building (this kind of institution - 325 beds - did not have a recreation room at that time), and soon some residents of the nearby "Ursula Home", joined this club, accompanied by a nun.

The intellectually handicapped participants, of whom the majority cannot read or write and some of whom are also physically handicapped, and for whom control of bodily movements is often difficult, were provided with simple musical instruments (predominantly small percussion). There was also a lot of singing. Using well-known songs, the leaders tried to add some structure to the incredible pandemonium the soloists created. In the beginning, each member drummed, jingled, or triangled exclusively for him/herself.

To achieve a bit more than simply rhythm and song, the leaders went and looked for reasonably priced musical instruments on which to play a few melodies. The most suitable instrument turned out to be the "melodica": a flute with piano-keyboard. The keys were coded and, if these visualised tones turned out to be insufficiently visible for the wind instrument players, the "toot-with-s-curve" was invented. At the Josti Band's request, the Hohner firm manufactured these "s-toot" melodicas for quite some time.

On the principle "Don't Learn it, but Do it" (thereby learning it), the band members started playing music. The leader's biggest problem was (and still is): how do you give everyone a musical task, which is enjoyable for the person playing and which fits into the entire orchestra? As soon as a certain instrument captures an individual's attention and he feels the effect of playing it, it catches on and the fun starts. But then how do you get an enthusiastic musician to stop playing?

The members of the orchestra had to learn to be silent so as to be able to subsequently perform an act simultaneously (!). Keeping to the beat, creating rhythm - getting the restless band members to play "together" obviously required a huge amount of patience and perseverance on the leaders' part.

The musicians were taught how to listen and copy. They learned how to translate a story into sounds (like an elephant into: boom, boom, boom). Listening to the melody, the volume (this is low, this is loud), the feeling. They had to watch one another, and not drown one another out. The orchestra, which consists largely of members who live in their own world, had to be united. The intellectually handicapped band members were required to co-operate musically. A foolish thought in the opinion of many.

People who were not directly involved showed a somewhat pitying attitude when the subject of the music club was raised, and others watched the rehearsals of the band sceptically, but what many had deemed an impossible task was achieved. The mentally handicapped band members not only learned how to play music, they even learned how to play music together.

Not the entire orchestra travels abroad, because the Jostiband simply has too many members. Besides, not all members of the orchestra are able to go on such a tour. Some of the most talented musicians do not have the social skills required for such an undertaking. A delegation is formed and the members of the ensemble who went abroad come back with great stories to tell. About the huge mountains, their tops covered with snow, the Notre Dame de Silence monastery in Sion where they stayed, the audience in Martigny doing a conga, and about "Whispering Hope", which sounded more beautiful than ever in the village of Brig. Josti goes international!?

Over the last 40 years, The Jostiband Orchestra have toured many countries which include France (1981), Germany (1988), Switzerland (1989), Israel (1993) and Canada (2000). They say "Music knows no borders, and neither does the JostiBand".

The Jostiband Orchestra with Andre Rieu