“He never forgot what it felt like to hold a violin for the first time — André Rieu donates £360k to give 1,000 children a chance to feel the music he’s carried in his heart since childhood” Before the lights, before the world tours, André Rieu was just a little boy in Limburg, clutching a full-size violin and dreaming in notes.

Now, in a quietly powerful act of giving, the world-famous maestro has donated £360,000 to fund music lessons for 1,000 kids who’ve never even touched an instrument. “Music changed my life,” he said.“I want them to have that chance too.”

The donation sparked the creation of a new André Rieu Fund — and for many families, it means the difference between silence and song. Fans are calling it his most beautiful performance yet…

“He never forgot where he came from — André Rieu donates £360,000 to give 1,000 children the gift of music he was lucky to have”André Rieu donates £360k to provide music lessons for children

He’s played to millions, sold out arenas, and built an empire of sound — but in the end, André Rieu’s most powerful performance didn’t happen on stage.

André Rieu playing a full-size violin as a child

In a quietly announced move that’s now touching hearts around the world, the legendary Dutch violinist has donated £360,000 to fund music lessons for 1,000 children in his hometown of Limburg, Netherlands — many from families who could never afford such a dream.

André Rieu to Fund Music Lessons for 1,000 Children in the Netherlands

“I would like to give these children the pleasure of making music,” Rieu said. “My orchestra members and I know how much joy it brings. We’ve lived it every day.”

Andre Rieu gives $470,000 to teach children music - Slippedisc

He remembers what it was like — holding a full-size violin as a boy, learning the language of melody before he could even grasp its weight.
Now, through the Jeugdfonds Cultuur Limburg, a youth foundation supporting cultural education, his donation will launch the new André Rieu Fund, opening doors for hundreds of young lives.

Each lesson costs around €425 per child per year — a number that seems small, until you realize what it buys: confidence, creativity, and a future many never thought they’d have.

Earlier this year, Rieu also offered to replace €20,000 worth of stolen instruments from an orchestra for the mentally disabled.
“My heart broke,” he said. “I want them to perform again. Music should never be taken away.”

For André Rieu, music isn’t just performance — it’s purpose.
And with this act of generosity, he’s rewritten his legacy not in notes, but in lives