Sander was born in 1981 in Deurne, the Netherlands. He began playing the oboe as a child in the Royal Wind Orchestra in Deurne, later studying with Herman Vincken in Brabant and conducting with internationally respected conductors Jan Cober and Hardy Mertens. He completed his bachelor’s degrees in both oboe and conducting at the Fontys Conservatory in Brabant. During his master’s studies in oboe under Herman Vincken, he took part in masterclasses led by Alexei Ogrintchouk, Hans Wolters, and Ernest Rombout. As an oboist, Sander is currently active with the Anemos Art Wind Quintet, which works in association with the South Netherlands Philharmonic. As a conductor, he was appointed chief conductor of the Chamber Orchestra Alveare and the Valkenswaard Chamber Orchestra. He continued developing his craft through private lessons with Jan Stulen and attended masterclasses with Otto Tausk (2010), Ilona Meskó (2012/2013), Jorma Panula (2013), and in 2015, with Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, and Leonid Grin. Sander has received numerous accolades at conducting competitions both in the Netherlands and abroad. These include the Jacques de Leeuw Top Talent Award (2005) and finalist placements at the Conducting Competition with the MAV Symphony Orchestra in Budapest (2012, 2013).
In 2013, Sander won the Special Jury Prize at the Blue Danube Opera Conducting Competition in Bulgaria for his interpretation of Puccini’s La Bohème. This success led to an invitation to work with the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, where he served as assistant conductor for Giordano’s Andrea Chénier and musical director of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux. In 2014, Sander was awarded both the Jury Prize and the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra Prize at the Jeunesses Musicales International Conducting Competition in Bucharest. Following this, he was invited to conduct with the symphony orchestras of Timișoara and Iași (2016) in Romania. In 2015, Sander earned second prize at the Blue Danube competition for his interpretation of the opening of Puccini’s Tosca in the final concert, leading to further invitations from Bulgarian opera houses.
Sander worked as assistant conductor with Dutch Touring Opera on The Flying Dutchman, and was awarded the prestigious conductor’s scholarship from the Het Kersjes Fonds in 2018.
Between the years 2018 and 2022, he served as assistant conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 2020, he has been affiliated with the Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam, where he teaches within the orchestral conducting department.
Foto: Jostijn Ligtvoet
