Our mentors - Gerard Leegwater

Gerard Leegwater – Organist, Conductor & Mentor

The musical career of Gerard Leegwater began at an early age, with a special fascination for the organ.
He received lessons from Hendrik Timmerman and, from the age of twelve, played the organ in several churches near his hometown.
At fifteen, he became the organist of the Noordhollands Jongenskoor, founded by Hendrik Timmerman, with whom he made numerous concert tours.

At the Alkmaar Conservatory, he studied organ under Hans van Nieuwkoop and Jos van der Kooy.
In addition, he pursued studies in choral conducting, church music, and later musicology at Utrecht University.
His curiosity about the story behind the notes inspired him to study musicology, which he successfully completed in 1993 with a master’s degree.
During these studies, he also took choral conducting lessons with Jan Boogaarts, and harpsichord and basso continuo with Gert Oost.
Furthermore, he attended various masterclasses and courses in performance practice and interpretation, including those by Ewald Kooiman and Gaston Litaize.

Today, Gerard Leegwater leads five choirs and serves as cantor-organist at the Witte Kerk and the Ter Coulsterkerk in Heiloo.
He also performs regularly as a soloist and accompanist and is a member of several musical ensembles.

With the ensemble he founded, Collegium Vocale Camerata, he has performed a Bach cantata every month for many years at the Koogerkerk in Zuid-Scharwoude.
As both conductor and organist, Gerard has been involved in the performance of numerous oratorios, cantatas, and other major works — including all the great vocal compositions by J.S. Bach such as the Passions, Mass in B minor, Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat, and Motets, as well as Handel’s Messiah, C.P.E. Bach’s Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu, Mozart’s Requiem, Duruflé’s Requiem, and many others.