Associate researcher
Harpsichordist and organist Ton Koopman created his first baroque orchestra at the age of 25. In 1979 he founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, followed in 1992 by the Amsterdam Baroque Choir. Combined as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, the ensemble soon gained worldwide fame as one of the best ensembles on period instruments. Ton Koopman and his ABO&C have performed in concert halls all around the world. With his wife Tini Mathot as a recording producer, Ton Koopman and his ABO&C recorded an enormous amount of CDs with a great variety of works from the baroque and classical periods: from Bach's Passions to all Mozart's symphonies, and from Locatelli's concerti grossi to Dutch Christmas songs. Major recognitions include Gramophone Awards, Diapason d’Or, Prix Hector Berlioz, Edison awards, BBC Award and Echo Klassik Award. Most remarkable long-term projects have been the recording of the complete Bach cantatas and of the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude.
Throughout his career Ton Koopman has divided his time between his own performing activities, research and teaching. He has been a professor of harpsichord at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, and teaches masterclasses and courses in organ and harpsichord, ensemble playing, and research and performance practice of early music. Ton Koopman is professor emeritus of Historically Informed Performance of Early Music at the University of Leiden and an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. Ton Koopman is President of the International Dieterich Buxtehude Society. Since 2019 he is president of the Leipzig Bach Archive.
