Dutch organization. It was founded in 1945 by Walter A.F. Maas, a Jewish émigré from Mainz, at Bilthoven in the Netherlands. It is based in the Huize Gaudeamus, a villa built in the shape of a grand piano by the composer Julius Röntgen (i), and its aim is the promotion of new music, particularly that of Dutch composers. From 1947 it held an annual music week of Dutch compositions and national and international weeks were held alternately until 1959, when they became fully international. From 1960 the foundation organized concerts of Dutch music abroad, including tours by the Gaudeamus Quartet, and in 1963 the International Gaudeamus Competition for Interpreters of Contemporary Music was inaugurated. More recently the foundation has held a biannual International Composers' Workshop, a workshop for young musicians from France, Germany and the Netherlands, and a number of festivals. The monthly bulletin Gaudeamus informatie was published from 1965 and the bi-monthly Gaudeamus Information for international readers from 1967. In 1970 the foundation joined the Dutch section of the ISCM.