Harry van Hoof

Dutch conductor, composer and arranger Harry van Hoof has accompanied many of the country's biggest stars, and conducted the Eurovision Song Contest on fifteen occasions. Born Henricus Matheus van Hoof in German-occupied Hilversum on March 16, 1943, he trained on the piano and began playing in the early 1960s rock band Peter & His Rockets. After a spell with the group BZN, he composed the hit "How Do You Do" for Mouth & MacNeal in 1971, then formed the short-lived duo Hal Dorado with Peter Koelewjin, before linking up with the Metropole Orkest for two decades and accompanying a number of Dutch chanson artists, including Armand, Ramses, Shaffy, Rob de Nijs, Willeke Alberti and Sandra & Andres. His reputation in his homeland was further enhanced when, between 1972 and 1994, he conducted the artists competing for the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest on fifteen occasions, including the victorious group Teach-In and their 1975 hit "Dinge Dong". At the same time, Harry van Hoof enjoyed success with his own orchestral recordings of various themes: Strings by Candlelight with Piet Souer (1976), Thank You for the Music with Pieter van Vollenhoven (1978), Together with Anita Kerr (1980) and two albums with flautist Georghe Zamfir, Music by Candlelight (1979) and Music by Candlelight 2 (1980). Married to singer Trea Dobbs since 1967, the conductor died on June 1, 2024 at the age of 81.

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