Composer, conductor, and trumpeter
Anthonius Julius Hendrikus (Ton) Kötter was born on November 9, 1906, in Aalten, at number 184a (Hogestraat). Two years after his birth, the family moved to Groesbeek. On May 23, 1929, Kötter married Tobina Anna Maria van Spreeken (Rotterdam, October 11, 1896) in Ubbergen.
When he was twelve years old, he received private trumpet lessons. At the age of 14, he took violin and trumpet lessons at the music school in Nijmegen. He subsequently studied music theory and composition privately. He became a member of the Marinierskapel der Koninklijke Marine as a trumpeter. At the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, he studied composition and orchestral conducting under Professor Freidenberg and Wilhelm Furtwängler.
After World War II, Kotter became the conductor of various concert and fanfare bands, including the Police Band in Nijmegen. In 1948, he became the conductor for several orchestras in the Tilburg area, including the well-known Koninklijke Harmonie “Sophia’s Vereeniging” in Loon op Zand, and from 1950 to 1965, the Andels Fanfare Corps, Andel. He later conducted Soli Deo Gloria in Enschede. In 1965, he became a lecturer at the Conservatorium Enschede. From 1967 to 1977, he served as the conductor of Excelsior Eibergen.
Ton Kotter passed away on April 21, 1991.
