Walter Alfred Friedrich Maas (18 juli 1909 – 1 december 1992) was een groot voorvechter en belangenbehartiger van de moderne muziek en jonge componisten in Nederland. Hij was de oprichter van de Stichting Gaudeamus ter bevordering van de eigentijdse muziek. In 1933, na de machtsovername door de nazi’s, emigreerde Walter Maas vanuit Mainz (Duitsland) naar Nederland. In Huize Gaudeamus in Bilthoven heeft hij enige maanden in de oorlog als onderduiker gewoond. Deze villa uit 1925…

Chris Walraven was appointed as ISCM Secretary General in 1990. Prior to that, he worked for decades at the Gaudeamus Foundation, first as its Treasurer, starting in 1959, and then as its Executive Secretary from 1964, additionally serving as the Gaudeamus delegate to the ISCM from 1982. A non-musician, he nevertheless worked tirelessly for the…

André Laporte (b. 1931) has been active in the ISCM for over 40 years. In 1972, together with Herman Sabbe, he set up a new ISCM Belgian Section, after Belgium being inactive in the network for nearly 20 years. He has remained the chairperson of the section to this day. In addition to serving as…

Joji Yuasa (1929 in Koriyama, Japan) was from 1981 through 1994 actively engaged in music research and education at the University of California, San Diego.