Jan Cober is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 and clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 player.

Life

Jan Cober is the child of a musical family from the village of Thorn, Netherlands

Thorn, Netherlands

Thorn is a town in the municipality of Maasgouw, in the Dutch province of Limburg. It lies on the rivers Meuse and Witbeek. It's known as 'the white village' for its white-washed brick houses in the centre of town.-History:...

. He played the clarinet in the Royal Harmony of Thorn. He studied conducting and the clarinet at the Conservatory of Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

 and completed both studies with a Prix d'Excellence. Between 1972 and 1977, he was the first clarinet of the Nederlandse omroeporkest (Dutch broadcast orchestra), and starting in 1977, he was the solo clarinet player at the Residentie Orkest in Den Haag. He has worked with famous conductors Willem van Otterloo

Willem van Otterloo

Jan Willem van Otterloo was a Dutch conductor, cellist and composer.-Biography:Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspector, and his wife Anna Catharina Enderlé...

 and Ferdinand Leitner

Ferdinand Leitner

Ferdinand Leitner was a German conductor. Leitner studied under Franz Schreker, Julius Prüwer, Artur Schnabel and Karl Muck. He also was a composition student with Robert Kahn. Starting as a pianist, through the help of Fritz Busch, he became a conductor in the 1930s...

. At an NOS broadcast course and competition for conductors led by Neeme Järvi

Neeme Järvi

Neeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...

, he entered the final rounds.

Since 1976, he teaches clarinet and conductorship at the Brabants conservatorium in Tilburg

Tilburg

Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....

, the Conservatory of Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

 and the Conservatory of Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

. Additionally, he is part of the European Institute for Conducting in the Italian city of Trento

Trento

Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...

.