Johan Wichers

Johan Wichers (born May 12, 1887 in Rheine , † November 22, 1956 in Enschede ) was a Dutch composer .

Life

His Dutch parents moved to Rheine before he was born because there were better opportunities to work and earn money there than in the eastern region of the Netherlands. However, they always retained Dutch nationality , so Wichers also served in the Dutch armed forces from 1905 . He belonged to the corps of riding artillery and in his spare time was also a trumpeter in the orchestra of the Nordhorn Musikverein in Lower Saxony. After his military service , he worked for the Dutch Railways . In 1949 he retired. At first he lived in Oosterhout and then came to Oldenzaal via Winterswijk and Denekamp , where he settled down , so to speak .

Although he has never attended a conservatory and has only developed his skills self-taught , he has been composing marches since 1928 . He wrote a total of 69 marches, 23 of which were printed and published. He is therefore referred to as the March King of the Netherlands. From 1930 to 1956 he was a trumpeter and also played the French horn in the Koninklijke Muziekvereniging Semper Crescendo in Oldenzaal, where he was also involved as a trainer for the next generation. Many of his very popular marches are still part of the standard repertoire of the Dutch harmony and fanfare orchestras , especially of course the military wind orchestras .

His most played marches in Germany are " Mars der Medici " and " Aan mijn Volk ".

literature

• Walter Hellinger: Johan Wichers, the "March King of the Netherlands", born 100 years ago in Rheine. In: Rheine - yesterday - today - tomorrow. 18, 1, pp. 81-90 (1987).

Web links

• Works by and about Johan Wichers in the catalog of the German National Library