Jaap Koops

Born on Tuesday, the 5th of December 1939 - died on Tuesday, the 10th of May 2016. Grew up in a musical family; his father was a known amateur-conductor. After his graduation he chose for a career in music and followed private trumpet lessons from trumpet player and -teacher Jan Marinus. In 1959, Koops joined the Royal Dutch Navy as a solo trumpet player for the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy, which he remained until 1964. Because of his musical talents, the navy gave him the opportunity to go the the Rotterdam Conservatory to study conducting; his professor was Henk Van Lijnschooten, the ex-director of the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Koops obtained his diploma there in 1968. Right after he left the Rotterdam Conservatory, Koops was assigned to become the 2nd conductor for the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. On December 1st, major J. P. Laro accepted a new assignment as inspector of military music and in his footsteps, Koops now became 4th director and conductor of the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Later on, Koops became the captain-director of the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. His side activities included teaching at various music institutes, and acting as a member of the jury for SONMO ("Stichting Overkoepeling Nederlandse Muziek Organisaties"). [Source].