Royal Decoration for Organist Wouter van Belle

January 24, 2026

Since 1985, Wouter van Belle has been associated with the St. Catharina Cathedral (Catharijne Church), where he made an important contribution to the musical quality and appearance of the cathedral. His organ playing has been recorded on various radio recordings and CDs with organ and choir works.

From 1990, he committed himself to the restoration and preservation of the monumental Maarschalkerweerd organ from 1903. For this, he founded the Catharijne Concerts Foundation. Thanks to his efforts, the restoration was completed in 1996. Even after that, he continued to bring attention to the organ by organizing concerts with prominent organists from home and abroad.

As a regular organist, he accompanied the Cathedral Choir Utrecht at concerts at home and abroad. He also took the initiative to purchase a choir organ for the cathedral. By establishing the Cathedral Choir Organ Utrecht Foundation, a historic choir organ by Daniel Gray from 1852 was put into use in 2012.

Wouter van Belle was also for many years the regular accompanist of the Toonkunst Choir Utrecht. In 2018, he took the initiative for the book The Utrecht Catharina Church, which describes the history of the building, the music, and the organs. In addition to his performing work, he is active as a composer of liturgical works and larger choir compositions, including Hymn to St. John’s the Baptist, Missa Corona, and Magnificat. For his compositional oeuvre, he received the Willem Vogel Oeuvre Prize in 2020.