Rocco Havelaar (1972) is a composer and violist. He composed his first pieces in 1983. He was admitted to the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 1986 to study composition with Diderik Wagenaar. From 1995 onwards he studied composition at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Klaas de Vries where he graduated in 1998. He also studied viola with Gisella Bergman and Ferdinand Erblich and graduated in 1999. He has been working as a free-lance violist and composer for many years; initially in the Netherlands, later in the United States. He has written for various combinations; from solo pieces to symphony orchestra, including several works commissioned by the Fund for the Creation of Music in the Netherlands.
As a violist, Rocco has played in many ensembles and orchestras, performing a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary. Among others, he played in Het Noord Nederlands Orkest, Holland Symfonia and Het Brabants Orkest.
In 2000, as a result of a competition, he was awarded a commission by the Tera de Marez Oyens Foundation to write a piece for violin and percussion that was performed in the Netherlands and in april 2003 at Princeton University. In the summer of 2001 Mr. Havelaar was invited to be a fellow at the Composers Conference in Wellesley, MA. His ‘Stringquartet no. 2-for Sandra’ (2000) was performed during the Conference. Among many other performances, his 3rd string quartet was performed by the DaPonte string quartet in Maine, his 4th string quartet was performed at Amherst college by the Omer string quartet. His work ‘Night, Dreams’ for symphony orchestra was performed by the by the Rhode Island College Symphony Orchestra and Alexey Shabalin.