Anouk Agnes, President of SOSVEM;
Credit: © Philharmonie Luxembourg / Alfonso Salgueiro
On Thursday 1 December 2022, SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde (SOSVEM) held its 46th Gala Concert at Philharmonie Luxembourg.
Organised with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra - OPL), the Philharmonie and EY, with which SOSVEM is celebrating its 20th anniversary of partnership in 2022. The gala concert was a privileged moment of music, solidarity and tranquillity at the end of a year of unwavering commitment, according to SOSVEM.
On Thursday evening, Luxembourg’s Minister for Family Affairs and Integration, Corrine Cahen, joined the a full Philharmonic audience. Partners, godparents, ambassadors and volunteers of the association joined this special event.
A nearly full house heard the interpretation of "Variations on a Rococo theme" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, chosen by Hayoung Choi, the winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2022. Another highly anticipated moment was the world premiere of a piece by a Luxembourg composer, a privileged moment in the musical life of the country, "7 Gates" by Luc Grethen (who celebrated his birthday on Thursday evening as well). A work full of contrasts and variations. "Der Rosenkavalier Suite" by Richard Strauss completed the evening's programme, with the OPL, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno, leading the audience to vibrate in unison at all the pages of the score.
Loud applause greeted the performers whose talent and renown added to the quality of an evening whose profits will go to a project that SOS Children's Villages World supports in the Madagascar’s Great South, where a drought has been raging for years.
The president of the association, Anouk Agnes, in the early evening, spoke about the project in the Madagascar’s Great South and the committment to strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable communities in the face of climate change and food insecurity. A short documentary film shot by Pascal Becker during a visit by the director of SOSVEM, Sophie Glesener, shows the work undertaken in the field.
The SOSVEM President recalled how goodwill remains necessary for actions to continue on the ground to help children in danger and support the children of Ukraine who pay a heavy price for the war.
The exact amount of money raised at SOSVEM's 46th Gala Concert will be known early next year following receipt of all the payments from tickets, sponsorship, donations and sales stands.
