FRANS DE RUITER
Rotterdam, May 4th 1946 – Zaandam, 16th of July 2025
To compress the life of Frans de Ruiter in a few words is impossible, because of his never ending curiousness and unstoppable energy. Especially professionally. Just have a look at his remarkable CV. It is difficult to grasp that all this could be accomplished by one man, and with such a wide perspective!
He had barely finished his studies in musicology and produced (maybe) the first performance in the Netherlands (in the Geertenkerk, Utrecht) of the oldest opera in musical history: “Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo” by Emilio de ‘Cavalieri. A few years later he was the defender of the post war generation of composers. At that moment also director of the Holland Festival and he fouded the Holland Festival Early Music Utrecht.
In the years 1985 – 2006 he became the director of the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague and started to intensely familiarize himself in teaching profession. This eventually led to the commission to create a new part of the Leyden University that, with the assistance of an important network to realize the so called post-graduate studies (Masters and PhD) with the name ACADEMY OF CREATIVE & PERFORMING ARTS. He became the first Dean of the institute.
The composition department at the Royal Conservatoire became a magnet for students from all parts of the world.In the Academy of Creative & Performing Arts the central theme: how to realize investigation of the arts.
And if that was not enough, he fulfilled many functions in national as well as international as collaborator, advisor and sometimes also decisive, sometimes with innovative consequences. It should also be mentioned for years he was chairman of the International Music Council (Unesco, Paris).
To organize all these perspectives concerning musical life and far beyond his pension, he was also chairman of ABO&C which means Ton Koopman’s Baroque Orchestra and Choir, the remarkable Ensemble Black Pencil (the 5 members are from Venezuela, Turkey, Austria, Spain and the Netherlans) and our Trace21 Foundation.
Special focus should be pointed at our recent major project TOPENG MASQUERADE. Especially during the tour in the island of Java (Indonesia), an extensive educational programme was organized by Frans de Ruiter and his wife Manon de Ruiter – Heijne. Not only projects would be organized at the university UPI in Bandung and the art academy ISI in Yogya, but also extensive subjects as how to handle post-graduate studies and music therapy!
Sadly Frans de Ruiter suffered a serious epileptic attaque just before their departure and we were forced to postpone our plans. Also by our Indonesian friends/musicians and composers his passing has been be regarded as a great tragedy.
So his departure of a very intensive life in music will leave a large hole in our musical life. Not only in musical life but also in the lives of his wife and children.
We wish him serenity and will remember him as a remarkable supporter of all the great initiatives thanks to him.