Jozef Willem Haazen

Jozef Willem Haazen, Professor at the Faculty of Arts of the Saint Petersburg State University, guest professor at the Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions in Antwerp (University of Brussels), Honorary director of the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" in Mechelen. Сommander of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), European Honorary Senator “Pro Pace et Unitate, e meritu et honoris causa» Among his multiple international awards are the “Honors of Music” Medal (University of Berkeley, USA), “Citizens Medal First Class”, Christoffel Plantin Prize, Gaston Feremansprize (Belgium), European Merit Foundation Medal (Luxembourg), The Friendship Order (Russian Federation).


Jozef Haazen studied organ and piano at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory in Antwerp, where thousands listened to his recitals from the tower of Antwerp Cathedral. Haazen was a driving force in the renaissance of the carillon art in Flanders following World War II. Laureate of the International Carillon Competitions of the Holland Festival in 1966, 1967 and 1968. From 1968 to 1981 he was Antwerp's official municipal carillonneur. He was instructor of aesthetics, music education, and Esperanto at the Van Celst Institute at the Antwerp Continuing Education program for languages. From 1981 to 2010 he was municipal carillonneur in Mechelen and director Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" in Mechelen. Haazen wrote a five-volume method book for carillon and various publications about the carillon art and philosophical subjects. He promoted the carillon arts in Japan, Russia, Ukraine and China and in 2003 was appointed State Carillonneur at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg (Russia). In 2006 he became professor at the Faculty of Arts of the Saint Petersburg State University, as well as a guest professor at the Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions in Antwerp. On 15 December 2012 he launched an international humanitarian project (UEA-UNESCO), to modify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to include human obligations.