Kuypers, John Marinus (1900-1994) | University of Illinois Archives

John Mariunus Kuypers (1900-1993) was born November 15, 1990 in Rotterdam, Holland. At age 13, he served as a commercial seaman. Around age 14, he returned to Holland to find that his father, Hendrik Kuypers, intended for him to make his career in America. His family uprooted to the Catskills in New York soon after and his mother, Minke, persuaded him to enroll at a preparatory school in Holland, Michigan.  Soon after, he enrolled in Carleton College (MN), where he earned his bachelor's of arts in three years. After graduating in 1926, he secured a position in the viola section of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. In 1932, he became the head of the Music Department and conductor of the choir at Hamline University (MN). Betwen 1939 and 1942, he served as the conductor of the Pro Musica Sinfonietta, a chamber orchestra based in Minneapolis.

In 1942, Kuypers was named head of the choral music program at Cornell University (NY). In 1947, Kuypers was hired as the director of the School of Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His hire also coincided with the arrival of the Walden String Quartet to the University of Illinois. The ensemble had been the resident ensemble at Cornell University, but followed Kuypers to Illinois. Kuypers became the director of the University Symphony Orchestra and in their first few years at Illinois the Waldens served as the first chair members of the ensemble's string section. In 1947, Kuypers also served as the first chair of the Festival of Contemporary Arts Committee, an event that opened the following year in 1948. Kuyper's used his connections in New York to bring several influential composers and conductors to the University during the Festival.

After the hire of John Garvey in 1948, Kuypers' leadership was put to question. Frustrated at the lack of freedom alloted to the Walden Quartet, Garvey led a coalition of faculty, whose grievances eventually made their way to Fine and Applied Arts Dean Allen Weller and President George D. Stoddard. Kuypers resigned from his position as director in the fall of 1950, but continued to teach in the school of music until 1961. In 1958, on a leave of absence, he directed the choir at Dillard University (LA). In 1962, Kuypers became the choir director at Tulane University (LA). He would conduct there until his retirement in 1971. Kuypers died on July 19, 1993.

"Far Cry from Ship's Flunkey to Choirmaster" Wisconsin State Register (January 12, 1940): 10.

"New Cornell Choral Head Named," The Ithaca Journal (June 6, 1942): 2.

"Stoddard to Receive Report on Music School Freedom," Daily Illini (June 23, 1950): 1.

"John M. Kuypers to Direct Dillard U Choir Next Year." The Louisiana Weekly (August 2, 1958): 15.

Guy Romano, "A Man of Music," The Times-Picayune (March 21, 1971): 191 and 195.