Ruud van Eeten received his B.A. in Trombone, Theory of Music, and Orchestral Conducting from the Brabant Conservatory in Tilburg, The Netherlands, and his M.A. in orchestral conducting from the Royal Conservatory The Hague, rounding off his studies conducting the Limburg Symphony Orchestra.

In 2002 he won the Bernard Haitink award, and was appointed assistant conductor at the Limburg Symphony Orchestra for one year. He also assisted Ed Spanjaard, Micha Hamel, Kenneth Montgomery, and Jac van Steen, and took master classes with Georg Fritsch, Marc Soustrot, and Roberto Benzi.

He lead several ensembles and orchestras such as the Nieuw-Ensemble and Ensemble Multifoon, the latter in collaboration with the Aurelia saxophone quartet. Recently he was appointed artistic leader and conductor of Ensemble Multifoon.

He conducted Purcell’s opera ‘Dido and Aeneas’ at the Brabant Conservatory.

During the Steve Reich Festival this year Ruud van Eeten was a guest conductor at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. At the Traces Festival he was a guest conductor and gave concerts with Die Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart.

From January till March he was assistant at the ‘Opéra National de Lyon’ in France, and in May he made his debut as assistant at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In June he was second conductor of the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra during the Holland Festival.

As a composer, Ruud van Eeten wrote a trombone concerto for the principal trombonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which was performed with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. He composed works for orchestra De Volharding and the New Trombone Collective. By assignment from Tilburg University he wrote a piece for choir and orchestra based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

In January of this year his piece Marianne was first performed in Tilburg at the Traces Festival. For this composition he received the Anjer Muziek award.

In December his Concerto for Bass-saxophone and Cor Anglais will be premiered.

On the 29th of June his latest piece Panorama for six trombones and organ was performed in Rotterdam, by the New Trombone Collective. The famous Dutch orchestra ‘De Volharding’, founded by Louis Andriessen, commissioned him to compose a new piece for the season 2005-2006.

On June 11, 2005, his concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra will be premiered by the Aurelia and the Limburg Symphony Orchestra, a commission by the ‘Fonds van de Scheppende Toonkunst’. The ‘Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst’ also commissioned him to write a new piece for the New Trombone Collective, and this will be premiered in 2007 during the International Trombone Festival in Rotterdam. Furthermore he is writing a new piece for the ‘Egidius Quartet’, an overture commissioned by ‘Unisono’ and a work for chamber choir. The famous Dutch orchestra ‘De Volharding’, founded by Louis Andriessen, commissioned him to compose a new piece for the season 2007–2008.

In March 2006, Ruud van Eeten was appointed artistic and financial director of the Music centre De Toonzaal, in Den Bosch (Netherlands). Besides programming, he is also involved in lectures, workshops, festivals and competitions.