40 Drummers Deliver Unique Sound Spectacle at Ghent City Hall

Ghent (Eurotoday) – Forty drummers from Ghent, Lyon, and Porto came together for a spectacular open-air performance of RLLR.XXL near Ghent’s city hall. Led by Swiss percussionist Julius Sartorius, the group used unconventional objects to create constantly evolving rhythms as part of Hogeschool Gent’s International Week.

The event took place on March 29, 2025, in Ghent’s historic center. The streets echoed with the vibrant sounds of 40 drummers—students from music academies in Belgium, France, and Portugal—who collaborated on a unique musical experience. The performance centered around a repeating pattern that subtly shifted throughout the 45-minute show, transforming the group into what sounded like a single, unified instrument. The open-air venue allowed the ambient sounds of the city to blend with the drumming, resulting in an immersive sonic experience.

What made this performance stand out was the use of specially crafted sound-altering tools. Each team of drummers practiced independently before converging in Ghent. Students from the Advanced Master in Contemporary Music program at Hogeschool Gent played a key role in enhancing the performance’s experimental edge.

In preparation for the event, the drummers designed and utilized a range of materials—wood, metal, stone—to manipulate the sound of their drums. These objects were placed on and around the instruments, allowing the artists to produce shifting soundscapes with each movement. The performance was dynamic and unpredictable, aligning with Sartorius’s vision of creating music that resists repetition.

“This means that the sound mass is constantly changing, and you never have the feeling that you are listening to a repetition,” said Blanckaert, one of the event’s coordinators.

The RLLR.XXL performance was a central feature of Hogeschool Gent’s International Week, an annual initiative that welcomes educators and students from across Europe to share knowledge and foster cultural exchange. Organizers noted that the project emphasized music’s unique ability to build bridges between different cultures and communities.

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