Johannes Abraham "Johan" de Meij (; born November 23, 1953 in Voorburg) is a Dutch conductor, trombonist, and composer, best known for his '' Symphony No. 1'' for wind ensemble, nicknamed ''The Lord of the Rings'' symphony.

Biography

Johan de Meij received his musical training at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he studied trombone and conducting. His Symphony No. 1, ''The Lord of the Rings,'' received the Sudler Composition Prize and has been recorded by ensembles including The

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, The North Netherlands Orchestra, The Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Amsterdam Wind Orchestra. Before turning exclusively to composing and conducting, Johan de Meij played trombone and euphonium; he performed with major ensembles in The Netherlands. He is the principal guest conductor of the New York Wind Symphony and the Kyushu Wind Orchestra in Fukuoka, Japan; he is a regular guest conductor of the Simón Bolívar Youth Wind Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan educational system El Sistema. He is founder and CEO of the publishing company Amstel Music, which he established in 1989. When not traveling, de Meij divides his time between

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

and

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

with his wife Dyan. His '' Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"'', first performed in 1988, won the Sudler Composition Award in 1989. It has been recorded by several orchestras.

Works

* 1979 ''Patchwork for brass sextet'' * 1984-1988 '' Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"'' * 1988 ''Loch Ness - A Scottish Fantasy'' * 1989 ''Aquarium'' opus 5 * 1993 ''Symphony No. 2 "The Big Apple" (A New York Symphony)'' * 1995 ''Polish Christmas Music- Part 1'' (based on the Polish Christmas carols ''Pokłon Jezusowi; Mizerna, cicha; Anioł pasterzom mówił; Gdy śliczna Panna'' and ''Jam jest dudka'') *1995 ''Jazz Suite No.2'' (of

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

) Classical transcription for symphonic/fanfare band *1996 '' T-Bone Concerto'' for trombone and concert band *1997 ''Continental Overture'' *1998 ''La Quintessenza'' *2000 ''Casanova'' for cello solo and symphonic wind orchestra *2002 ''The Venetian Collection'' *'' Klezmer Classics for wind orchestra'' *''The Wind in the Willows'' *2005 ''Extreme Make-over'' (Testpiece for the European Brass Band Contest 2005, Groningen-NL) *2005 ''Ceremonial Fanfare'' *2006 ''Symphony No. 3 "Planet Earth"'' *2006 ''Windy City Overture'' - commissioned by the

Northshore Concert Band The Northshore Concert Band (NCB) is a 100-member concert band based in Evanston, Illinois which performs throughout the Chicago, Illinois, Chicago metropolitan area. History NCB was founded in 1956 and led for 40 years by the late John P. Pa ...

*2007 ''Canticles'' for Bass Trombone and Wind Orchestra *2007 ''Festive Hymn'' *2008 ''Dutch Masters Suite'' *2009? ''Evolution'' *2010 ''Spring - Overture for Wind Orchestra'' *2010 ''At Kitty O'Sheas (Irish Folk Song Suite)'' *2011 ''Cloud Factory'' *2011 "Songs from the Catskills" *2011? ''Sinfonietta no. 1'' (''for brass band'') *2012 ''UFO Concerto for Euphonium'' *2012 ''Extreme Beethoven'' - commissioned by in

Kerkrade Kerkrade (; Kerkrade dialect, Ripuarian: ; ; or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the P ...

*2013 ''Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonie der Lieder"'' (to texts by

Friedrich Rückert Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translation, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert was born 16 May 1788 in Schweinfurt and was the e ...

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

, and Hugo von Hofmannsthal) * 2013 ''Basilica sacra'' * 2013 ''Summer'' * 2014 ''Downtown divertimento'' * ''Madurodam'' * ''Pentagram'' * ''R.O.K Navy Fanfare'' * 2019 ''Symphony No. 5 "Return to Middle Earth"'' * 2022 ''The Painted Bird''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meij, Johan De 1953 births Living people 20th-century Dutch classical composers 20th-century classical trombonists 20th-century Dutch conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians 21st-century Dutch classical composers 21st-century classical trombonists 21st-century Dutch conductors (music) 21st-century Dutch male musicians Brass band composers Concert band composers Dutch classical trombonists Dutch male classical composers Dutch male conductors (music) Male trombonists People from Voorburg Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni