In Memoriam: Daan Admiraal

Onverwacht overleden, onze geliefde dirigent

Daan Admiraal

Eindhoven, 11 april 1949 - Müstair, 22 juli 2018

Nu is er stilte

Daan Admiraal
Much to our sorrow, our orchestra conductor, Daan Admiraal, passed away unexpectedly in his beloved Switzerland on July 22 at the age of 69. Daan was conductor of the Delft Student Music Association Krashna Musika for 37 years. From his appointment in 1981, when he, barely older than some of the musicians, came to stand in front of choir and orchestra, until his death, he has continuously worked to ensure that everyone performs to the best of their ability. Not only with passion and craftsmanship, but also with a healthy dose of stubbornness and a sometimes unparalleled sense of humor. At times, rehearsals needed to be interrupted, because he had unconsciously caused the entire orchestra to laugh their ass off, or consciously made it clear to everyone with a witty remark how the music should have sounded. Daan made sure never to place himself in front of the orchestra. Always at the service of the orchestra, he managed to enable the orchestra to convey the essence of many well-known and lesser-known 19th and 20th-century works to the public. It was only during the annual football match between the choir and the orchestra named after him that he managed to draw attention to himself by loudly encouraging us from the sidelines and urging us to leave the fingers of some essential instrumentalists intact. Krashna experienced many highlights over the years with Daan. Operas such as François Guyon and Carmen, symphonies by Mahler, the Sacre by Stravinsky. Daan led Krashna through it flawlessly, first as a peer, later as a father figure, always as a friend. Daan loved working with us and we loved working with him. Daan will be terribly missed by us and the many others he has inspired in his life, he will always live on in our music. For many instrumentalists the rehearsals on Monday were the highlight of the week, so on behalf of Krashna, in Daan's words: Daan, fijne vakantie! En tot maandag!