Young Luxembourg musicians wow crowd

The final performance for the Luxembourg National Youth Wind Orchestra was fittingly in Belgium.

With some of their sound echoing off of the Luxembourg American Cultural Center  next to them, 58 young talented musicians earned a standing ovation from more than 60 people after a more than 60-minute concert on Monday.

Afterward, they mingled with some of the crowd — a few still speak Luxembourgish. Many people in the Belgium area trace their roots to the tiny country.

Conductor Francois Schammo said it’s amazing “to know that so far away there are people who speak Luxembourgish.”

Although they don’t speak in today’s dialect. The language has evolved, Jessica Quintus, one of the band’s tutors and a saxophonist, said. While they could still understand each other, Belgium residents “speak in a strange way, like my grandma’s grandma did,” she said.

Quintus was impressed by all the Luxembourg names on mailboxes and graves. Cemeteries, she said, had more Luxembourg names than those in Luxembourg.

Schammo said seeing the exhibit of Luxembourg’s former beloved Grand Duke Jean at the center was emotional. As a prince, his family was exiled when Germans took control of Luxembourg and later served with the Irish Guards in World War II, before returning to his liberated country. The band played a march dedicated to him.

Inside the LACC, the band enjoyed one of their final American meals — burgers and macaroni and cheese from Kyote’s Bar & Grill, the business’ first catering gig.

Food was one of the major adjustments for the musicians on their two and a half-week trip to Canada, Michigan and Wisconsin. Most were visiting America for the first time.

Members stayed with host families to soak up American culture. Sweets were a hit.

“Donuts,” 19-year-old percussionist Julie Scheuren declared after a small pause to ponder her favorite food. She likes the cinnamon kind and minutes later added another American favorite.

“We don’t have bagels and I love bagels,” she said.

While clarinetist Laurent Putz, 22 and visiting America for the third time, said he was surprised by how many healthy food options were available, “the unhealthy stuff tastes really nice.”

At the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival in Michigan, he tried deep-fried Oreos.

“That was intense,” Laurent said.

Clarinetist Anna Scherer said she likes cinnamon rolls and noticed that Americans put more ice in their water than at home.

Water is one thing the band misses. American tap water is not to their liking.

“When you brush your teeth, I hate it,” French horn player Joyce Agnes said, although she loves blueberry pancakes.

In Luxembourg, most of the musicians would be old enough to bypass the tap and get a beer, since the drinking age is 16. Luxembourg’s own Bofferding was available at lunch, but only those 21 and older indulged.

“Obviously, we don’t take advantage of that here,” Laurent said.

The driving age in Luxembourg, however, is 18, and that’s not the only difference in traveling. A 90-minute drive gets one across Luxembourg and is considered a long trip, Scheuren said.

The musicians had to reassure their families back home that they were OK and not near the recent mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. Guns in Luxembourg are only owned by hunters and police.

“There’s a general awareness that there are guns here,” Laurent said.

Scheuren, who stayed with a family that had six daughters, was taken shooting once and has a video on her phone of firing a gun. She said it was “exciting” and then made a check mark in the air to take it off her list of life experiences.

Most Luxembourgers only know the country through TV and movies, which have subtitles. Scheuren likes “Friends” and Laurent likes “Daredevil.” They like American music, including Guns and Roses, and the band’s encore was “Welcome to the Jungle.”

Paul Scholer, director of the Union Grand-Duc Adolphe Music School in Luxembourg, said it was important for the band to visit Belgium and the Luxembourg American Cultural Center to see where many Luxembourgers stayed after immigrating. From 1830 to 1920, more than 120,000 people — one third of the country — came to America to escape poverty.

“We wanted to show that to our young musicians,” he said. “The whole world is moving, escaping war and poverty.”

Scholer was a member of the band when it visited in 1976. The program had later been discontinued, but when Scholer became director of the music school he worked to bring it back. The band visited in 2015 and hopes to return after this trip.

Luxembourg American Cultural Society Director Sara Jacoby said she welcomes the band back anytime.