1956 – 2026
With great sadness we share that Niek Wijns passed away on 2 February. Niek was former managing director and artistic coordinator of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble (Nederlands Blazers Ensemble), a clarinetist, sound director, producer of NBELIVE, husband, father, grandfather, and for so many a dear friend.
From 2011 to 2023, Niek served as managing director of the NBE. He was and remained the quiet driving force behind the ensemble, the connector between people, ideas, and worlds. Between musicians and technicians, between artistic dreams and practical reality.
Originally trained as a clarinetist — staccato king — he developed into an exceptional sound director with an unfailing ear for detail and balance. Sound and atmosphere came together in his work, not to make himself heard, but to let others shine, always in service of the music.
Together with artistic director Bart Schneemann, Niek shaped the NBE for twelve years into what it is today. Together they set the course of the ensemble, and Niek ensured that dreams were turned into reality. On the business side, he guided the ensemble into calmer waters, maintained networks, and brought people together. Not by directing or persuading, but by listening, giving trust, and creating space.
He brought musicians together, but also audiences, partners, and makers from different worlds. He believed in the power of music to move people and bring them together — across boundaries of culture, age, and background.
Niek was also of great significance to the NBE’s *Lotgenoten*. He welcomed people with open arms and made them feel part of the NBE family. His personal approach, warmth, and humor created a deep sense of connection — to the ensemble and to one another.
Even after stepping down as managing director, Niek remained quietly involved. In the difficult time that followed for him, his presence became less self-evident, but his engagement remained palpable — warm, curious, and marked by the same disarming humor so characteristic of him. For the NBE, his passing feels like a sudden silence.
With Niek, we lose an exceptional human being.
A connector in the deepest sense of the word.
Someone who helped shape the NBE into what it is today.
We are deeply grateful to him
and we will miss him tremendously.