Biography

Born in Zwolle, Netherlands, TON KOOPMAN trained as an organist and harpsichordist and founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979, followed by the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in 1992. With a repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to the late Classical era, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir has performed at the Concertgebouw, Théatre des Champs-Élysées, Salle Pleyel, Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Musikverein, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Suntory Hall. In recent years, Mr. Koopman has been active as guest conductor, working with ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra. He made his debut under San Francisco Symphony auspices on the Great Performers Series with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1996 and made his subscription series debut with the Orchestra in 2011.

Among Mr. Koopman’s most ambitious projects has been the recording of J.S. Bach’s complete cantatas, a massive undertaking for which he has been awarded the Echo Klassik Award, the BBC Award, the Hector Berlioz Prize, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award and Gramophone Award. In addition to the works of Bach, he has long been an advocate of the music of Dieterich Buxtehude, and embarked on the recording of the Buxtehude—Opera Omnia (complete works), consisting of thirty CDs released between 2005 and 2014.

Mr. Koopman is President of the International Dieterich Buxtehude Society. In 2006 he was awarded the Bach Prize of the City of Leipzig, in 2012 the Buxtehude Prize of the city of Lübeck, and in 2014 he received the Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music in London.