For ten years in green Zeist, listen to the richness that songs have to offer us. Songs that so often sing of that same greenery and touch us with their stories. Next year, therefore, nature itself will be our protagonist. Because we live in nature and its nature. And what better way for song to do this than to propound to us each time that one question: how do we relate to ourselves and our origins? For the 2026 festival, we therefore chose the theme Back to nature.
BACK TO NATURE
A quick glance at the news tells us about heat records, fallen climate agreements, wildfires and rising sea levels. At the same time, we are tempted by advertisements inviting us to go out and indulge in nature holidays in forests, on beaches and in the mountains. After all, we are looking for the relief that makes us forget, even if only for a moment, our hectic lives. It marks our complicated relationship with nature and the environment. To the world we live in and are part of. 'Umwelt' is aptly called that in German. It encompasses everything that surrounds us: nature and ourselves.
Back to nature is also the title of a poem by Rutger Kopland. In Nunspeet, the first stanza can be read as a wall poem close to the railway station:
There was a man, I won't say who
he was, who loved nature,
At least he thought so, because he had
Heard there was so much to find there,
the silence, freedom, joy and yourself
and so on. Enough in any case to get there
once to go. *
The next line of the poem reads, "And when he finished his sandwiches? In the stanzas after that, the poet questions our attitude towards nature. Is nature just a place 'where there is so much to find' that we should go there sometime? Do we then find silence, freedom and joy and ourselves? Or do we also bear responsibility for it and influence it?
FRIDAY 15 TO SUNDAY 24 MAY 2026: INTERNATIONAL SONG FESTIVAL ZEIST
From Friday 15 to Sunday 24 May, we will explore our relationship with nature and how our human nature sees it. Because nature is not a 'recreational park' where we can stay for entertainment and relaxation. We are part of it and can 'make' and break it. Nature is also the inspiration for countless beautiful songs from the past to the present that hold up a mirror to us. For when he finished his sandwiches, the man in the poem heard the rain, smelt the grass under his feet, the laughter of people and "the voice of mother / owl crying in the elms and calling / for him.
Join us and listen to the voice of nature!
Henk Neven and Hans Eijsackers
* from: Rutger Kopland. Poems. Amsterdam, Van Oorschot, 1999
To say we live in turbulent times is not overrated. The age we live in presents us with big questions for our future. War and famine, near and far, rage all around us, claiming tens of thousands of victims. Moreover, the huge challenges of climate change, creating a sustainable world and habitable living circumstances for everyone loom up at the horizon. Could music, and for us in particular song, play a role in this?
That’s why we chose The future of music - Music of the futureas our 2025 theme; a theme that invites us to shed light on concepts such as 'future' and 'time' in different ways. What does the passing of time mean? Is it possible for us to be 'ahead of our time' and make our dreams for the future come true?
It might sound cliché, but the future belongs to the next generation! So, in 2025 also, we continue offering an extensive amount of room to provide masterclasses for young, professional song duos. Promising talents will point out the road lying before of us during the Young Artist Platform, the Winners' Recital and theatrical showcases. Because they are the performers of tomorrow. And of course, primary and secondary school pupils make themselves heard. Because if we know how to captivate them now, they will embrace the art of song in the future.
In the heart of Zeist you will find Slot Zeist, lavish greenery in the nearby parks and historic squares. There you will also find the church of the Evangelical Brotherhood, which has been the concert venue of International Song Festival Zeist since the beginning. Every year in May, this church is the centre of international song art. Enjoy world-class musicians, up-and-coming talent or amateur musicians from young to old, International Song Festival Zeist guarantees listening pleasure. A visit to Zeist completes your festival experience.
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