Hans de Wit
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Hans de Wit was born on March 2, 1960, in Willemstad, a town in the province of Brabant. He began his musical career in the world of wind bands and orchestras, where he learned to play various wind instruments. From the age of nine, he attended the Roosendaal School of Music, where he obtained the A, B, and C organ diplomas cum laude—an achievement that remains unique in the history of this music school. In addition, Hans studied piano with the renowned pianist and conductor Jan Vermeulen.
He won prizes at several competitions, including the National Youth Organ Competition in Breda. After completing his secondary education, he went on to study at the Rotterdam Conservatory. There he pursued two principal subjects: organ with Jet Dubbeldam, and ensemble accompaniment/arranging with Jan Eelkema (choral conducting), Jaap Koops and Arie van Beek (orchestral conducting), Jos van der Sijde (conducting technique), and Bernard van Beurden (composition/arranging). During this same period, he completed an internship with the renowned Metropole Orchestra, then conducted by Rogier van Otterloo. He also obtained a qualification in music therapy. Hans graduated as the top student of his year.
Even during his studies, Hans gained extensive experience as a conductor with various choirs, as well as serving as co-organizer and founder of numerous music projects.
For various projects, including international ones, Hans is regularly invited to perform as a guest conductor. In recent years, he has been invited as a guest conductor at the ICMF (International Church Music Festival) in Coventry (England) and Bern (Switzerland), where he collaborated with the world-famous conductor Sir David Willcocks. As a conductor, he has contributed to a large number of CD, radio, and television recordings, and more than 500 choral and orchestral arrangements bear his name.
Hans is currently conductor of the Westlands Men’s Choir, Breda’s Men’s Choir, Westlands Women’s Choir, Chamber Choir Invasion, and the Zoetermeer Women’s Choir. With these and other choirs, he has performed not only in numerous national concerts but also in many countries and cities, including Vienna, Bern, Prague, London, Coventry, Paris, Verona, Milan, Garda, Venice, Weimar, Erfurt, Heidelberg, Toronto and surrounding areas, Brussels, Antwerp, Cologne, Diest, Kortrijk, and Barcelona.
