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Prof. Cornelius Pouderoijen was born at Nijmegen (the Netherlands) in 1950. From an early age until leaving secondary school he studied violin and voice. He attended "Canisius" Jesuit College (Grammar School) in Nijmegen from 1962 to 1969, where his education in violin, singing and dramatics continued. In 1969 he entered the Benedictine Abbey (Mount St. Benedict) in Vaals (southern Netherlands). He studied Philosophy and Theology from 1972 to 1978, from 1974 to 1978 at the "Collegium Damianeum" of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary ("Picpus-Fathers", SSCC). There he took his degree in Philosophy (1975) and Theology (1978), gaining first class honours. From 1976 he specialised in Gregorian chant in his Abbey at Vaals, where the classical Benedictine Office is sung daily in Latin.
From 1978 onwards he visited the Abbey of Solesmes (France) regularly. There he specialised in Paleography and Textual Critique with Dom Jacques Froger and Dom Jacques Hourlier, in Modality with the famous specialist in this matter, Dom Jean Claire, and in Semiology with the founder of this science, Dom Eugène Cardine. From 1984 to 1988 he studied at the Folkwang-University Essen (Germany) during the "International Courses of Gregorian chant", organised by the "AISCGre" (International Society of Studies of Gregorian chant), with Godehard Joppich, Johannes-Berchmans Göschl, Luigi Agustoni and Rupert Fischer. There he gained a first class honours degree in 1990. From 1987 to 1997 he carried out research at Solesmes for the New Roman Antiphonal, the first years as collaborator with Dom Jean Claire. For many years he was Choirmaster of the Abbey in Vaals and of Quarr Abbey (Isle of Wight, UK; 1999-2001). October 2004 he was appointed University Professor for Gregorian Chant and Liturgy at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts.