Article newspaper Hoogeveense courant 22-09-2025

Translation:

Henry Huisjes (62) was told six years ago that he had prostate cancer. He did not give up—on the contrary, the musician from Hoogeveen threw himself completely into composing (classical) works for choir, orchestra, and piano from the moment he learned he had a serious illness. International recognition followed recently at a prestigious international competition in Austria, where he won a prize for his composition of the Ave Verum.
ROEL KLEINE

“What is happening now?” went through Huisjes’s mind when he was told he had prostate cancer. The versatile musician, who directs several choirs, collaborates on music projects, and works as an arranger, was momentarily brought to a standstill. “At that moment, now six years ago, I asked myself what I really wanted,” Huisjes recalls. He answered his own question by resolving to devote his heart and soul entirely to composing.

His compositions and arrangements are now performed worldwide by numerous musicians, choirs, and orchestras. Huisjes considers his prize-winning Ave Verum at the competition in Baden to be the most important international recognition of his work. “People who understand it appreciate this,” says the Hoogeveen musician with justified pride.

Expectations

Huisjes did not have high expectations when entering the competition in Baden, a suburb of Vienna where Mozart’s world-famous Ave Verum was first performed. The competition features an international expert jury of five prominent musicians from Italy, Austria, Russia, Belgium, and South Africa. It is a leading contest for composers of classical choral music. Participants come from Europe, the United States, and New Zealand and, according to Huisjes, are experienced and professional composers.

He says he came across the competition on social media (Facebook). “The assignment was to compose a piece based on the text of the Ave Verum. I thought, I’ll just take part and see where I stand. I knew I don’t produce amateur work, but I certainly didn’t enter expecting to win anything. So it was quite a surprise when I heard I had won second prize.”

The award earned the Hoogeveen musician €500, a golden diploma with special recognition from the jury, and a publication with the German music publisher PH Publisher. The formal award ceremony will take place on March 9, 2026, at St. Stephen’s Church in Baden, Austria. The premiere of Huisjes’s Ave Verum will take place in Budapest, Hungary; the date is yet to be determined.

The Hoogeveen musician composed his first major works in 2020. Blue Canyon, an orchestral piece, was inspired by a trip he made through the United States. In 2023, the work received a high ranking at an international film music competition organized by the Film Scoring Academy Europe, which featured 700 composers from 100 countries. Between 2014 and 2019, he composed the Missa Brevis for choir and orchestra. A version for choir, string quartet, brass quintet, flute, and piano premiered in February 2024.

Conductor

Huisjes encountered music at a young age and graduated in 1985 from the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede. He conducts two choirs: Con Amore from Hoogeveen and Campanella from Holten. As a pianist, he accompanies several soloists and choirs, including the male choir Hollandscheveld.

He is also active as an organizer and participant in various music projects. “The project Missa & More, featuring only my own compositions, was a great success in February last year,” says the composer. Since May 2024, Huisjes has been a board member of the Sing and More foundation, where he organizes projects for project choirs and orchestras together with Hoogeveen choral conductor Roelof Bosma. He also regularly collaborates with conductor and organist Frank Kaman from Hardenberg and euphonium player Jorijn van Hese from Emmen.

Sing and More

Together with choral conductor Bosma, Huisjes founded the Sing and More foundation. At Christmas, two concerts titled Carols and More are performed, with Huisjes as pianist and Bosma as conductor. Some of the compositions performed are written specifically for these concerts.

In the upcoming two concerts, seven contemporary compositions by Huisjes will be performed, including the Ave Verum.