Johan de Meij

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johan De Meij

Johannes Abraham Johan de Meij [ j'ohɑn dʏ mɛi ] (born November 23, 1953 in Voorburg ) is a Dutch conductor , trombonist , arranger and composer .

Life

Johan de Meij studied trombone and conducting at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and gained international recognition as a composer and arranger. In addition to original compositions, his work also includes symphonic transcriptions and arrangements of film music and musicals.

Composer, conductor, trombonist and arranger

Symphony No. 1, The Lord of the Rings, based on motifs from Tolkien's novel cycle of the same name, was Johan de Meij's first major composition for symphonic wind orchestra and received the recognized Sudler Composition Award in the USA in 1989. In 2001 the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra premiered the version for symphony orchestra. The Lord of the Rings has been recorded on more than twenty CDs by renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra. His other large-scale works such as Symphony No. 2 The Big Apple , the T-Bone Concerto (trombone concerto) and Casanova (cello concerto) also found their way into the repertoire of many orchestras around the world. In 1999 Casanova won first prize at the International Composition Competition in Corciano (Italy); the following year, The Red Tower was awarded a prize at the International Composition Competition in Oman. Johan de Meij composed his third symphony Planet Earth for the Northern Netherlands Orchestra. In 2006 he won second prize at the International Composition Competition in Corciano with this symphony. His most recent and fifth symphony Return to Middle Earth was composed until 2018 on behalf of The Middle Earth Commissioning Project , organized by Valparaiso University, Indiana (USA) .

Besides being a composer, Johan de Meij is also active as a musician in various fields. As a trombonist he played with various Dutch ensembles and orchestras, among others. a. the Radio Kamer Orkest, Nederlands Filharmonisch Orkest, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, The Amsterdam Wind Orchestra and Orkest De Volharding. He is also a sought-after guest conductor and lecturer and has conducted concerts and conducted seminars in almost all European countries, in Japan, Singapore, Brazil, Australia and the United States. Since 2010 he has been a permanent guest conductor with the Simon Bolivar Youth Wind Orchestra in Venezuela.

Paintings by the famous Dutch masters Rembrandt van Rijn , Johannes Vermeer and Jan Steen inspired Johan de Meij to write the three-movement “Dutch masters Suite” for wind orchestra. The German draftsman , painter and project artist INK, Ingrid Sonntag-Ramirez Ponce, inspired the art project of the same name from Meij's theme and his music . It opened the Main-Kinzig-Fulda Cultural Summer in 2014. For this purpose, the composer traveled from the USA and personally conducted the Musikverein in 1964 Oberndorf - a 70-piece symphonic wind orchestra belonging to the project

In September 2019 Johan de Meij conducted the German premiere of Return to Middle Earth in Bad Orb and Hanau in a concert by the Bläserphilharmonie Rhein-Main with the participation of the Friends of the Karl Rehbein School Hanau, the TU Darmstadt choir and the project choir Polyhymnia.

Works (selection)

  • 1984–1988 Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"
    1. Gandalf
    2. Lothlórien
    3. Gollum
    4. Journey in the Dark / The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm
    5. Hobbits
  • 1988 Loch Ness- A Scottish Fantasy
    1. The Lake At Dawn
    2. Slowly
    3. Inverness
    4. Storm
    5. Conclusion
  • 1989 Aquarium opus 5
    1. Allegretto grazioso (Neon Tetra, Electric Eel and Angelfish)
    2. Andante / Adagio (Sea Horse and Zebrafish)
    3. Finale: Allegro giocoso (Guppy & Co.)
  • 1993 Symphony No. 2 "The Big Apple" (A New York Symphony)
    1. Skyline - Allegro assai
    2. Interlude - Times Square Cadenza
    3. Gotham - Largamente, allegro agitato e nervoso
  • 1995 Polish Christmas Music- Part 1
    • based on the polish christmas carols Poklon Jezusowi; Mizerna, cicha; Aniol pasterzom mówil; Gdy sliczna Panna and Jam jest dudka
  • 1996 T-Bone Concerto for trombone and wind orchestra
    1. Rare
    2. medium
    3. well done
  • 1997 Continental Overture
  • 1998 La Quintessenza
    1. Introduzione
    2. Capriccio
    3. Arioso
    4. Alla Marcia
  • 2000 Casanova for violoncello solo and symphonic wind orchestra
    1. Prologo - Il Tema di Messer Grande
    2. Cadenza - Attos di Presentazione
    3. La Vita a Corte
    4. L'Arresto di Casanova
    5. Reminiscenze
    6. L'Evasione dai Piombi
    7. MM e CC
    8. Finale e Stretto: Il Trionfo dell'Amore
  • 2002 The Venetian Collection
    1. Voice of Space (La Voix des Airs)
    2. The Red Tower (La Torre Rossa)
    3. Magic Garden (magic garden)
    4. Empire of Light (L'Empire des Lumières)
  • Klezmer Classics for wind orchestra
    1. Mazltov
    2. The Trisker Rebn's Nign
    3. Lomir Sich Iberbetn
    4. Chosidl
    5. Ma Yofus
  • The Wind in the Willows
    1. The River
    2. Ratty and Mole
    3. Mister Toad
    4. The Return of Ulysses
  • 2006 Symphony No. 3 "Planet Earth"
    1. Lonely Planet
    2. Planet earth
    3. Mother earth
  • 2018 Symphony No. 5 "Return to Middle Earth"
    1. Miri na Fëanor (Jewels of Fëanor)
    2. Tinúviel (Nightingale)
    3. Ancalagon i-môr (Ancalagon, the Black)
    4. Arwen Undómiel (Evenstar)
    5. Dagor Delothrin (The War of Wrath)
    6. Thuringwethil (Woman of Secret Shadow)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "HR films the encounter between two top-class people" , Gelnhäuser Neue Zeitung, June 6, 2014
  2. ^ "Artistic soul mates" , Gelnhäuser Neue Zeitung, and Hanauer Anzeiger, June 10, 2014

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Meij, Johan de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meij, Johannes Abraham Johan de (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch composer and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Voorburg , Netherlands