Lasting Impressions

«And then… then Loopino discovered the magic flute…» – «Loopino? Sure, Loopino! She was there when I went to the Philharmonie with grandma.» – «Why ‹she›?! ‹He›, mom, ‹he›, – ‹he›, Loopino is a gnome!!!!» If at this point, the mother insisted that Loopino was surely a wolf girl, she would be as right as her six-year-old daughter. Along with the youth programmes of the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the cult figure of Loopino has also changed – at first, this stage personality was a wolf girl for a bit more than a decade, exploring the world as an identification figure for children aged five to nine; now Loopino has transformed into a gnome, displaying the same curiosity as its predecessor – whether the mission is to discover the seasons or musical instruments. What hasn’t changed is that Loopino speaks Luxembourgish and French and is always at eye level with the young audience members, accompanied, of course, by lots of music.

Loopino's story has seen constants and change, but most importantly, it’s a true success story – to summarize two decades of education programming at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. Introducing young people to music, and transporting emotions, values and of course entertainment through music – to fulfil this mission, the Education Team has to go with the times, in permanent contact and exchange with its audience, developing projects with a huge and continuously expanding pool of artists in which music is combined with dance, theatre, video art, acrobatics and much more. The subscription series are as diverse as their audience – differentiated not only by age groups, but also by language background. Some are presented in German, some in French, some without any spoken words at all. The featured musical styles are equally diverse, ranging from children’s songs to symphonic movements. The spectrum of formats has grown from concerts to workshops to various projects inviting young people to the stage as participants themselves – to say nothing of the popular Familjefestival.

One thing is certain, in this way, the Philharmonie creates lasting impressions: «I can recall exactly when the trumpets suddenly began to play. It was so amazing», Rebecca, who is 22 today, recalls her first visit to the Grand Auditorium – and she has been returning ever since.