Stijn Schoonderwoerd new general director Dutch National Opera & Ballet
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Stijn Schoonderwoerd will succeed Els van der Plas as general director of Dutch National Opera & Ballet from 1 February 2021. Together with the director of Dutch National Opera Sophie de Lint and the director of Dutch National Ballet Ted Brandsen, Schoonderwoerd will be part of the three-person Executive Direction and Board of DNO&B, which is jointly responsible for the entire organization.
The right general director
Chairman Jean-François van Boxmeer of the Supervisory Board of Dutch National Opera & Ballet: "We are convinced that we have found the right general director for Dutch National Opera & Ballet in Stijn Schoonderwoerd. The organization has a unique position within the Dutch cultural landscape. We cherish this position and we would like to further expand with the new director. We look forward to the cooperation ".
According to his co-directors Ted Brandsen and Sophie de Lint Stijn Schoonderwoerd has "extensive experience in successfully leading important cultural institutions and knows our organization well." Both are looking forward to the collaboration with Schoonderwoerd: “He is an excellent director with a strong financial background and a great passion for music, opera and ballet, who is very good at connecting people. We are extremely pleased with his arrival and look forward to the collaboration and positive energy that this new executive board team feels together".
Artistic world top
Schoonderwoerd (54) himself sees various reasons for making the transition. He calls National Opera & Ballet the "most beautiful organization in the entire cultural sector in the Netherlands". "The organization has so much artistic quality and craftmanship in it. Dutch National Opera and Dutch National Ballet are among the world's top artistic institutions, and it is very exciting to be able to contribute to this house ". He feels a responsibility to maintain and further develop this top position together with his co-directors.
No stranger
National Opera & Ballet is no stranger to Schoonderwoerd due to previous positions. He has been business director of Dutch National Ballet and co-director of Het Muziek theater Amsterdam, which merged into Dutch National Opera & Ballet. He was also director of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the permanent orchestra of the Dutch National Opera, and financial manager of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, also a partner orchestra of the Dutch National Opera.
From 2014, Schoonderwoerd was General Director of the National Museum of World Cultures, the new museum which arose from the merger of three museums which was realized under his leadership: the Tropenmuseum, Museum Volkenkunde (Ethnographic Museum) and the Afrika Museum and since 2017 also including the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam.