Joop Celis is a Dutch pianist, born in 1958. He received his first piano lessons from his father at the age of nine and studied with Jo Dusseldorp at the Maastricht Conservatory, graduating with the highest distinction in 1979. He subsequently spent two years studying at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with the Austrian pianist Paul Badura-Skoda.
At the age of fifteen, Celis won a Dutch competition for young pianists. Four years later he received third prize at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano, and he was later a laureate of the Tromp Competition in Eindhoven in 1980 and the International Piano Competition in Épinal in 1981. He has developed a career as a solo pianist and chamber musician, appearing on national and international stages, making CD recordings, and broadcasting on Dutch, Belgian, German and Italian radio. His repertoire extends from the Classical period through Romantic music to French Impressionism and post-Romanticism.
Shortly after completing his studies, Celis was appointed principal piano teacher at the Maastricht Conservatory. He lectures at the Conservatory of Hogeschool Zuyd in Maastricht and at the Lemmens campus of LUCA School of Arts in Leuven, and since September 2011 he has also been a principal piano teacher at the Fontys Conservatory in Tilburg. He has given masterclasses in the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and several Asian countries.
Celis is the regular duo partner of violinist Roeland Gehlen and performs in a piano duo with pianist Frédéric Meinders. From 2005, he gained international recognition through his Chandos recordings of piano works by the comparatively little-known British post-Romantic composer York Bowen, whose music he has also championed through concerts, lecture-recitals and essays. The recordings received outstanding reviews in national and international music magazines. In 2016, BIS released his recording of piano works by Enrique Granados, including Goyescas and Escenas Poéticas. Celis is a Steinway Artist.