When the Tuna Festival hit Eindhoven recently, that same atmosphere of cheerfulness and optimism could be felt from time to time, too. On the Eindhoven Markt, forty tuna companies competed against each other, as is the tuna tradition. If they weren’t competing, they roamed the city center treating people to random serenades.

The tuna tradition originated in Spain in the Middle Ages. Originally, a tuna was a group of students traveling from university to university to learn trades as well as science. To pay for food and shelter they performed in the cities. Since the tuna companies consisted of young men who weren’t half bad at singing, young women often had a hard time resisting the temptation of singing and youth. Young women being left behind broken-hearted as the group moved on were no exception.

This basic principle of the tuna tradition has been abandoned a long time ago, but the aspects are still present today, albeit in a ‘homeopathically diluted’ form. I was asked to present the opening and closing ceremony of the festival. Seeing all that musical enthusiasm, I inadvertently thought of a beautiful German proverb: Dort wo man singt, da setz dich ruhig nieder, denn böse Menschen haben keine Lieder.

Basically, that familiarity is the essence of a university community, too. It’s about connecting people, creating familiar surroundings, arousing a feeling of solidarity, establishing a stimulating, small-scale, competitive institute, and apart from acquiring knowledge, developing a comprehensive outlook by applying the muses.

Maybe hearing a youthful voice and the harmony of a vocal ensemble might stir the melancholy of your own inner voice that’s longing for harmony and perfection. That’s why we love to follow the music!