Jan van Beekum
Jan van Beekum ( born August 16, 1918 in The Hague, † 29 November 2001 in Dieren, Gelderland) was a Dutch composer and conductor.
At age 11, he played the clarinet in various brass bands around The Hague. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of his hometown clarinet, music theory and piano, graduating in 1945.
This was followed by a job as a clarinetist in the Arnhemse Orkest Vereniging ( predecessor of the Gelders Orkest ). At the same time he continued his studies as a conductor. As a conductor, he undertook the same for two orchestras. He also served in the Dutch broadcasting company VARA as a jury member of singing competitions.
As a composer, he has created works for various instruments, study literature and Blasorchesterwerke.