Johan de Meij
Guest
Conductor, "Absoluut Dutch"
7 and 8 December 2002, Singapore Conference Hall
Johan
de Meij studied trombone and conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Music at
The Hague. He has since earned international fame as a composer and arranger.
His catalogue of published works consists of original compositions, symphonic
transcriptions and arrangements of film scores and musicals.
The Symphony
no. 1 Lord of the Rings, based on Tolkienfs novel, was his first
substantial composition for symphonic band and received the prestigious Sudler
Composition Award in 1989. In 2001, the orchestral version was premiered by the
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. His other larger compositions, such as Symphony
no. 2 The Big Apple, T-bone Concerto (for trombone and wind
orchestra) and Casanova (for violoncello and wind orchestra) are also on
the repertoire of the better bands all over the world. Casanova was
awarded the First Prize at the International Composition Competition of Corciano
in Italy, 1999. A year later, De Meij won the Oman International Composition
Prize with The Red Tower. Last year, he received the 2001 Midwest Clinic
International Award in Chicago for his wind band compositions and his keen
involvement in the music education community.
Besides composing, Johan de Meij is also very active in various musical fields. He serves as trombonist with the Orchestra gDe Volhardingh (The Perseverance Orchestra), The Amsterdam Wind Orchestra and as a regular substitute with the Radio Chamber Orchestra. He is much in demand as a guest conductor: he has conducted concerts and seminars in most of the European countries, as well as in Japan, Brazil and the United States.
* profile correct as of 8 Dec 2002