Frans de Ruiter

Frans de Ruiter (1946) was (emeritus) professor and former director at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA), research institute within the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University.

Frans de Ruiter studied musicology at Utrecht University and harpsichord at the Conservatory of the Muzieklyceum Society, in Amsterdam. In the following years, he became director of the Holland Festival (1977-1985), and the Royal Conservatoire at The Hague (1985-2006), as well as President of the Board of the University of the Arts The Hague (1990 - 2011) after the merger of the Royal Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Art in 1990. Since the cooperation of the University of the Arts and Leiden University started, he was professor and dean of the Faculty of Creative and Performing Arts of Leiden University (2001-2008) and director of the Leiden University Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (2008-2016).

Frans de Ruiter has also been President of the UNESCO associated International Music Council in Paris (1997-2001 and 2009-2013) and President of the European House for Culture in Brussels. He was co-founder and director (from 1982 to 1994) of the Utrecht Early Music Festival. He was co-founder/director of docARTES, a cooperative doctoral programme in musical arts, and of PhDArts, a doctoral programme for fine arts and design.

On 13 April 2018 during the Arts Festivals Summit in Ljubljana, Prof. Frans de Ruiter has been appointed Honorary Member of the European Festivals Association, of which he has been President for 14 years (from 1989 to 2004).

Frans passed away on 16 July 2025. You can read the tribute we have written in his honour here.