The establishment and development of Qui Vive 

In 1997 at the coffee table of the staff room of the Stanislas College in Delft, two teachers, Ad van Unen (music) and Annemarie de Groot (French), had a wild idea: group of people to a French campsite to make music there. The bull was taken by the horns and in 1998 the music project Qui Vive started. 

The participants mainly came from Delft. Mostly they were (former) students and teachers of the Stanislas College. The two concerts that year, in Saint Avertin and in Tours, only attracted a handful of spectators, but after the week ended everyone was enthusiastic. It was therefore decided to go ahead and set up a board to appear more professionally the following year.

Since then, Qui Vive has grown both organically and musically. At the concerts in France, it is noticeable that the performances of Qui Vive are highly appreciated. This is mainly due to the musical choices that artistic director Ad van Unen makes. Every year the program offers surprises and challenges and several premieres of pieces were given, both for France and for the Netherlands. Qui Vive offered a stage to many young upcoming professional musicians.

Over the course of more than 20 years, Qui Vive has been able to perform at special locations. Concerts were given in the beautiful castle of Amboise, the cathedrals of Dijon and Langres, the Abbey of Fontevraud and Notre-Dame la Grande in Poitiers. Qui Vive also performed in many beautiful smaller French churches, including in Veigné, St. Père-sous-Vézelay, Montreuil-Bellay, Saumur, Blécourt, Chauvigny, Vendôme and Chinon. In the fall of 2010, the company traveled to China, where concerts were given in the Shanghai area during a special tour.
A historical overview of locations and programs per year can be found here. 

In 2005 the tradition of ‘Talent in the tent’ was born. On Wednesday evenings, various members of the company provide a varied performance on the campsite, with cabaret, string music, Irish folk, ballads, dance and whatnot.