Joris | Groningen
My name is Joris. I live in the city of Groningen and play popular and traditional Dutch music with my street organ, in Dutch ‚draaiorgel‘. I have six organs in total.
How was your day?
It was a good day. There were a lot of people in town. Because it was nice weather, people were very generous. The name of the organ is ‚Sun‘. My other organs are called Delores and Vierkant (square). I play in Groningen and the surrounding villages.
Are the people different depending on the place?
In Groningen it’s more tourists and random people. In the villages, I have a lot of regulars. The tourists take pictures and give compliments and the locals give money. Maybe because it is a typical Dutch tradition and it has become very rare. The tradition is over a hundred years old and originated in Amsterdam. In the early years there was no other music, so it was very special.
Are there people who don’t like you?
There are students who live at night and don’t like being woken up by the street organ under their window. To avoid resistance and as a requirement of the city, I don’t stay in the same place all day, but change every 15 to 20 minutes.
How did you become an organ player?
I am 28 years old. When I was a little boy, three years old, I saw a street organ and I liked it. In the following years I kept telling my parents that this would become my profession. That desire never changed, I never thought about being a pilot or a doctor. It was always the street organ. When I was eight years old, I got a cutter knife and made my own cardboard books and asked the organists in the street to play my music. This helped me save money for my own organ. When I got out of school at 18, I had enough money to buy my first organ. With that money, I could have bought a car instead. Since then, I haven’t done anything else professionally, and that’s how it will stay.
How does the barrel organ work?
There is a motor that generates air and moves the cardboard books. When the cardboard moves, metal pins fall into these holes and cause the valves to open and air to flow into the corresponding pipes.
What made you happy today?
When people are happy, I’m happy.
Who is helping you today?
My name is Lieuwe and I am 13 years old. I sometimes help Joris with the street organ. My story is very similar to his. I was also three or four years old when I saw the street organ in the city and I liked it so much that I wanted to become a street organ player. But I’m not one hundred percent sure yet and I also play other instruments like guitar, (church) organ and I sing. But what I like about the street organ here is the people who walk by, who stop and listen to the music.