Conductors

Ruben de Grauw (1980) started singing at a very young age. When he was 7, he joined the Sacramentskoor in Breda. When he was 16, he started his own choir: 'Jeugdkamerkoor Plurale Tantum', for young singers between 15 and 25 years of age. After conducting this choir for eighteen years, he left the choir in 2015. Ruben studied Choir conducting from Wiecher Mandemaker at the Conservatory of Rotterdam. In 2004 he followed up his Bachelor degree with a Master of Music from Louis Buskens at Fontys Conservatory in Tilburg. Between 2009 and 2013 Ruben was assistant-conductor at the 'Nederlands Studenten kamerkoor' and he is currently the conductor of the project choir Cappella Ex Occasione in Breda, and naturally the student choir of Krashna Musika in Delft. Recently Ruben became consultant of amateur art at the foundation Nieuwe Veste in Breda. Ruben is still active as a singer. He is a tenor at the Laurens Collegium in Rotterdam and Studium Chorale in Maastricht.

We are very happy to say that Ruben has been leading Krashna's choir since November 2011.

The Dutch conductor Stijn Berkouwer has given concerts with the Nederlands Philarmonisch Orkest, the Gelders Orkest, the Orkest van het Oosten, the Noord Nederlands Orkest, Opera Zuid, Nesko, and Opera lab Berlin. In 2016 he has won the Anton Kersjes Scholarship for young conductors. Next to the USKO (Utrechts Studenten Koor en Orkest) he is also chief conductor of the Symfonieorkest de Philharmonie, with whom he has performed Mahlers second symphony in the Concertgebouw, among other pieces. In 2020 he was a guest in Podium Witteman together with the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, and he conducted an ensemble of the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest. Stijn Berkouwer has participated in masterclasses by Bernard Haitink and David Robertson, and in Tanglewood. Next to that he has been assistant conducter with Ivan Fischer, Simon Rattle, the Concertgebouworkest, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and at the Nederlandse Reisopera.