Theo Farrant for AP
Published on 28/03/2026 – 8:18 UTC+1
In the grand hall of Concertgebouw, a historic concert hall, rows of students are bent over their laptops and notebooks, the light from their screens illuminating the red velvet seats.
Above them, violinist Hyunjin Cho and cellist Efstratia Chaloulakou play, but the students are not impolite in seeming to ignore the musicians. At this event, they are there to study, and the music is supposed to help them rather than distract them.
This is a growing initiative launched by Entree, the youth association of Concertgebouw, designed to combine study and classical music live. These sessions aim to help students concentrate, reduce their stress, and attract a younger audience to this centuries-old venue.
“Well, this is one of the many ways to welcome a younger audience to Concertgebouw, and it’s such an inspiring place to study with great music in this wonderful, magnificent setting, and it’s one of the ways to more or less attract a younger audience to discover Concertgebouw and, we hope, they will be so excited that they will come back,” explains Simon Reinink, the general director of Concertgebouw.
The idea germinated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Entree was looking for ways to support students in distance learning while familiarizing them with classical music.
Since then, the concept has not waned: students regularly come back to cram before exams or wrap up their theses.
“It’s actually very soothing, and it helps me focus on the work we have to do, which surprises me because I don’t normally listen to classical music. So it’s a new experience for me,” explains 21-year-old occupational therapy student Kyra Mulder.
Professor Bas Bloem, a neurologist at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, believes that while music can disrupt the concentration of some people, it can help others focus: “I think that if background music can be almost as calming, it’s because it creates a ‘flow state,'” he explains.
He continues, “The flow is this mysterious balance between your level of competence and the level of challenge you face, and you seek to position yourself in this ideal zone. You don’t want to be too taxed or not enough, and I believe that background music can help you achieve this flow state, and everyone knows that when you enter this state, you can continue indefinitely and be extremely productive.”
The sessions are offered at a rate of only 2.50 euros, with free access to the venue’s Wi-Fi network.
Students like Thijmen Broekman, a medical student, ensure that the setting and music make multitasking and concentration easier. “I don’t find it difficult to do several things at once here because the environment is really quiet and the music is soft, so it helps me focus, and I have no difficulty multitasking,” he asserts.
