Pieter Jan Leusink (born 5 April 1958 in

Elburg Elburg () is a municipality and a city in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. History There is evidence of a Neolithic settlement at Elburg consisting of stone tools and pottery shards. From Roman times there are names and shards of earthenw ...

) is a Dutch conductor of classical music. He studied organ in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

at the Municipal Conservatory and took conducting lessons from Gottfried van der Horst. He founded the Stadsknapenkoor Elburg (Elburg City Boys' Choir) in April 1981 and founded three musical events in Elburg's St Nicholas Church, a Festival of Lessons and Carols in December, J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) during the Easter season, and summer concerts in July and August. He began conducting the Holland Boys Choir in 1984; currently it has 80 singers. Ten years later, in 1994, he founded The Leusink Bach Orchestra and one year later, an adult mixed choir, The Bach Choir of the Netherlands. They later merged into The Bach Choir and Orchestra. He is best known for his recordings of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

in particular, as well as

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, Fauré and

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

and has performed in England, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Latvia and his native Netherlands. Every year throughout the Netherlands about 150 concerts are performed by the choirs and the orchestra of Leusink. In 1999 and 2000 Leusink recorded all of Bach's sacred cantatas within 15 months. In 2004, Leusink was honoured by his conferment to Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

. In 2018, four female musicians accused Leusink of sexual misconduct. Two months later two more women came forward. At the time, Leusink denied the allegations; according to his counsel Peter Plasman, it was claimed they were based on differences of opinion of a business nature. After complaints from two female musicians dating back to 2012–2013 and 2013–2016, the Dutch College of Human Rights () ruled in June 2022 that Leusink was guilty of sexual harassment.Merlijn Kerkhof
Dirigent Pieter Jan Leusink schuldig aan seksuele intimidatie, volgens het College voor de Rechten van de Mens
de Volkskrant, 2 juni 2022 The case Leusden is one of the elaborated cases in an anaylis published by the Volkskrant about similar cases in the Dutch Cultural Sector and the resulting DARVO "deny, attack, and reverse victim & offender" strategies.

References

External links

Pieter Jan Leusink
Official website (in Nederlands) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leusink, Pieter Dutch male conductors (music) 1958 births Living people People from Elburg Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Bach musicians 21st-century Dutch conductors (music)