Godfried Hoogeveen began his cello studies at age ten, later studying at the Muzieklyceum in Amsterdam, where he obtained a solo diploma with honors in 1970. He studied for four years with the renowned cellist Gregor Piatigorsky in Los Angeles, where he also taught at UCLA. Hoogeveen was appointed principal cellist of The Hague Residentie Orchestra in 1976, and taught at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague for twelve years. In 1990, he was appointed first principal cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, making his first solo appearance with the orchestra together with Jaap van Zweden in Brahms's Double Concerto in May 1991. He has since performed as a soloist in Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto, Richard Strauss's Don Quixote and Dutilleux's Tout un monde lointain, any many other works. As part of the SLAVA! Rostropovich Festival in Amsterdam, he collaborated on a memorable chamber music concert in 2001, performing Arensky's String Quartet No. 2 with Mstislav Rostropovich, Vesko Eschkenazy and Yuri Bashmet. He also performed the Walton Cello Concerto in 2005, a work commissioned by Gregor Piatigorsky.