Jan Kouwenhoven (Zaandam 1950) started his oboe studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Cees van der Kraan, principal oboist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He graduated cum laude in 1973. He played in the Dutch radio orchestras before he joined the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1973. Two years later he won a special prize at the Tromp International Music Competition in Eindhoven. Kouwenhoven has been member of many chamber music ensembles and was principal oboist of the Concertgebouw Chamber orchestra until 2015.

In 1995, Kouwenhoven became teacher of Oboe at the Conservatory of Groningen. From 2003 he held the same position at the Amsterdam conservatory. Here he started an audition-training course for students with the ambition to join a professional symphony orchestra. This course should prepare these students for the intensity of the selection process. It was his idea to compare orchestral auditions with the challenges that top athletes face – challenges that make high demands on their physical and mental resources.

Jan Kouwenhoven served on the boards of the National Youth Orchestra of The Netherlands and the Bethany Convent in Amsterdam In April 2014 he was appointed study leader of the Woodwind Department of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.