Hildward Croes September 7, 1962 – December 17, 2014, Aruba
The son of an Aruban musician, composer, and arranger, Angelo Kock, and his two daughters, Hilyann and Natusha, are both Grammy Award nominees[2]. In addition, he has a grandchild named Kayden Kock. At a young age, Croes began playing keyboards with different bands on the Caribbean island of Aruba. A 1979 album of original compositions by Cryptus Confession included “Love Dream,” which reached number one. In the early 1980s, Croes moved to Boston to study music at Berklee College of Music. His graduate studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio led to his Master of Music degree in 1988. With Wilfrido Vargas in 1989, he toured the world and earned a Grammy nomination for his contribution as co-producer to Animación. The late 1990s saw him perform with Juan Luis Guerra & 440 as a keyboardist and programmer throughout North, Central, South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Europe. In 2001, he won a Latin Grammy for his Merengue album …De Vuelta Al Barrio with Chichi Peralta & Son Familia. In 2006, he was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his Merengue album Mas Que Suficiente, on which he played accordion, piano, and keyboards. Besides owning a recording studio and production company, he has won numerous awards and prizes in Aruba.