Leerorkest Caribisch Nederland

The Learning Orchestra (Leerorkest) started in 2005 in Amsterdam Southeast, focusing on music education, and now reaches around 5,000 children annually, particularly in areas where extra attention is most needed. Since 2017, the Learning Orchestra has also been active in the Caribbean, where over 1,300 children receive music lessons, learn to play instruments, and perform together in an orchestra. In 2024, the Learning Orchestra was given the opportunity to have their music teachers in the Caribbean trained and coached by Dutch musicians, both in playing classical instruments and in specialized pedagogical methods. The teachers were then able to immediately apply this knowledge in their lessons with the children on the islands.

For the period 2025–2028, the Learning Orchestra Caribbean Netherlands will be supported in strengthening and consolidating existing Learning Orchestra activities on the five Caribbean islands – Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, and Sint Eustatius – as well as in setting up a new Learning Orchestra on Sint Maarten. Teacher training programs will be implemented, and efforts will focus on providing more musical instruments and teaching materials. In this way, the Learning Orchestra offers hundreds of children structural opportunities for development through music education while building a sustainable infrastructure through teacher coaching and local collaboration.