André Rieu donates 425,000 euros for music education April 24, 2025. Source: “Klankwijzer”, information sheet from KNMO. (KNMO: “Royal Dutch Music Organization” is the national interest group for instrumental amateur music etc. and aims to promote (amateur music) music practice and related forms of (amateur) art practice at a national level and to promote the joint interests of its members and the affiliated associations). André Rieu donates 425,000 euros to the Youth Fund for Culture Limburg. With this amount, a thousand children in Limburg can receive music lessons for a year. These are children from families who have to survive on a subsistence level. The Youth Fund for Sports & Culture makes it possible for children and young people from families with little money to participate in football, music lessons, gymnastics, street dance, judo, theater lessons or another sporting or creative activity. For these children and young people, the fund pays the contribution/tuition fee and in certain cases the necessary equipment. The André Rieu Relay Fund is being set up to follow up on Rieu's gesture. The aim is to encourage other entrepreneurs and private individuals to take over from Rieu so that children and young people in Limburg can follow sustainable music education or develop other cultural activities.

Million euros raised for Opera Zuid: organization can continue April 24, 2025 article from L1 Nieuws and a related post by Opera Zuid (Opera South) a small Dutch opera company in Maastricht. Translation: Diana D. Le. Photo: J-P Geusens. Among others, André and Marjorie Rieu helped to contribute toward one million euros needed to keep Opera Zuid running for the second major hall production in 2025. Opera Zuid has been saved, the province of Limburg reports. At the end of last year, the opera threatened to go under, because the organization receives much less subsidy from the government than was requested. To ensure the second major hall production for 2025 goes ahead, one million euros was needed, and this amount has now been raised. Contributors The provinces of Limburg and Noord-Brabant each contribute 200,000 euros and the municipality of Maastricht 100,000 euros. The VSBfonds, the Cultuurfonds, the Gubbels-Huijnen Foundation, Stichting Kanunnik Salden/Nieuwenhof, and André and Marjorie Rieu also contribute. Future According to the province, the financial aid also offers the opera the opportunity to see to what extent the plans for 2026, 2027 and 2028 are still feasible. The opera will probably have to return to one large hall production per year. Subsidy Opera Zuid had requested a subsidy of 3.5 million euros, but will receive almost 1.9 million euros per year from the government in the period 2025-2028.