Jaap van Benthem
Van Benthem was born in Rotterdam in 1937. He was the eldest child in a family of teachers. As a result of the German bombing of Rotterdam in 1940, the family became homeless, after which they found shelter in Delft. In Delft he attended primary school. He attended secondary school in Rotterdam. Like his family members, he studied for becoming a teacher. However, from the age of 12 years old he also studied piano at the Conservatory of Rotterdam by Jaap Callenbach. He also studied music theory in Utrecht. In 1963 he started working as a teacher of music theory at Utrechts Conservatorium, and became also appointed in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. From 1972 he taught at the Utrecht University. After his retirement he remained active at the university for a long time. He also held a number of administrative positions, including being the vice-chairman of the Association for Dutch Music History. In 2017 the association published a Festschrift in honor of his 80th birthday. He was made an honorary member of the association in 2022.