Kinderen voor Kinderen


Kinderen voor Kinderen is a Dutch children's choir maintained by public broadcaster BNNVARA. The name translates as "children for children".
Since 1980 the choir has released one album of new children's songs each year, and is probably the only act from the 1980s with consecutive albums in the top 40 chart. The ideas for the songs generally come from children who write in. Well-known Dutch lyricists then turn submitted ideas into finished songs.
The songs on each year's album are presented in a special TV broadcast, staged and recorded in advance. Various Dutch celebrities often appear as cast members in these shows. In 2006, Kinderen voor Kinderen staged its first live pop concert as the basis of its annual broadcast.
Kinderen voor Kinderen also holds an annual "Song Contest" known as the "Kinderen voor Kinderen Songfestival" that sees the winners of the regional pre-selection rounds compete against each other as finalists.
The group has used its current logo since the release of album 28 in 2007. The logo, made up of cubes spelling out the group name, incorporates an exclamation mark on an angled cube. This is a distinguishing mark in the logo of the group's funder, public broadcaster VARA. The current KvK logo is a revision of a previous one, introduced in 1990 on their eleventh album, which featured an assortment of colored bouncing cubes to form the group name.

History

Concept

In 1980 program director Flory Anstadt decided to start a children's choir as part of a VARA fund-raising campaign to provide toys to children in developing countries. The choir released an album of songs sung by children ranging in age from 8 to 12 years old. VARA subsequently broadcast performances of the songs on television. The choir was a success and a decision was made to release an album each year from then on. The toy donation campaign ended in 1991. The name of the choir is now the sole reminder of its original function.
Staying true to their main purpose, Kinderen voor Kinderen is still releasing charity-singles such as:
The ensemble has been conducted by Babette Labeij since 2005. She succeeded Majel Lustenhouwer, who led the group during its first 25 years. In recognition of Kinderen voor Kinderen's contribution to Dutch culture under his guidance, Lustenhouwer received a knighthood of the Order of Orange Nassau in 2006.
For the first 21 releases, the first song on each album was always the Kinderen voor Kinderen anthem. Only albums 5 and 15 were notable exceptions as on those album the anthem was the closing track. Starting with album 22 the custom was changed to make it the closing track instead. The melody has remained the same since 1980, though the lyrics were changed after album 3 to remove a verse about children starving and sleeping in the street. The chorus has stayed the same, while verses have changed over the years to be more celebratory and inclusive, suggesting that children are more open-minded and understanding. Some of the recent albums omit the anthem entirely.

At present

The choir currently consists of around 30 children between 8 and 12 years of age. Originally the goal was to have participants from throughout the Netherlands. Over time, however, practical considerations intervened and the children recruited as singers are now required to live within close distance of the TV recording studios in Hilversum, southeast of Amsterdam. As a consequence the songs are sung with the characteristic accent of that area, the most noticeable feature of which is the so-called Gooise R: the retroflex pronunciation of the letter R at the end of words and after vowels before consonants in a manner similar to that of American English, although other Rs are realized as trills, either alveolar or uvular.
The ensemble operates on a yearly production cycle starting with auditions for new members in January. Songs are composed based on ideas from children's letters and go through a judging process, ultimately leaving 12 song choices for the year's CD. The first singing rehearsals begin in March, and dance rehearsals start in September after summer recess. The year's TV program is usually recorded during the autumn school recess. A viewing is held for the children and their families one week before the program is broadcast in November.
A 27-CD box set, released at the end of September 2007, gave the choir their first album top 10 entry in almost a decade.

TV broadcasts

1980-1984

Songs well known in the Netherlands or otherwise notable include:
Most of the songs named as examples above are from the ensemble's early years. There are many who say they like the songs from the early years better than the songs from the more recent past. However, as the group's website declares:

Topics addressed in songs

Kinderen voor Kinderen's songs deal with many different subjects. Some frequently recurring themes are:

Former members with notable solo careers

MemberKvK
season		CareerOther
Wikipedias
Iason Chronis8 to 12Part of music producer duo Mason:nl:Mason |nl
Sarah ChronisActress, appeared in the Dutch soap-opera ONM from 2006 to 2009:nl:Mandy Huydts|nl
Elise van der Horst12 to 17Singer known as EliZe:nl:EliZe|nl
2 and 3Part of Dutch girl group Frizzle Sizzle:nl:Mandy Huydts|nl
Marjon Keller2 to 4Part of Dutch girl group Frizzle Sizzle:nl:Marjon Keller|nl
Iris van Kempen17 to 19Part of the British-Dutch pop group XYP:nl:XYP|nl
Levi van Kempen20Actor appearing in Dutch soap ONM from 2005 to 2010:nl:Levi van Kempen|nl
Stefania LiberakakisGreek representative to the Eurovision Song Contest 2020:nl:Stefania Liberakakis|nl, :el:Stefania Liberakakis|el
Elvira Out1Actress, appeared in the Dutch soap opera Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden from 2006 to 2007:nl:Elvira Out|nl
Daniël Samkalden8 to 12Singer-songwriter:nl:Daniël Samkalden|nl
Kelly van der Veer12 to 15Transgender singer and television personality; assigned male at birth, underwent sex reassignment surgery at 19:nl:Kelly van der Veer|nl
Laura Vlasblom2Part of Dutch girl group Frizzle Sizzle:nl:Frizzle Sizzle|nl

Discography

Albums

Singles