Johan de Meij

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Johannes Abraham (Johan) de Meij (born November 23, 1953) is a Dutch conductor, trombonist, and composer. His best-known composition is The Lord of the Rings symphony.

[edit] Biography

De Meij's musical career started when he was fifteen years old at the concert band Harmonie Forum Hadriani in Voorburg, the Netherlands. At that time he was a pupil of Anner Bylsma sr. and Piet van Dijk for trombone and euphonium. In 1976 he was conscripted and joined the military band Trompetterkorps der Cavalerie, Amersfoort. After he finished his conscription, in 1977, he became a euphonium player with the Amsterdamse Politiekapel.

In 1978 de Meij started his studies at the Royal concervatory in The Hague with Arthur Moore (trombone), and with Rocus van Yperen and Jan van Ossenbruggen (conducting).

De Meij's engagement in the professional Haags Koper Ensemble, with wind instrument players from the Radio-Philharmonisch Orkest, Utrechts Symphonie Orkest, and Residentie Orkest was an important step in his career. This ensemble performed national concerts and also frequently on the radio. Not only did de Meij play music in the ensemble, he also did administrative work and wrote special arrangements and one composition.

Soon the arrangements that de Meij wrote for concert band were played not only by the Amsterdamse Politiekapel but also by many concert bands and orchestras in the Netherlands and abroad. Consequently he received various requests to make arrangements for concert bands. His first symphony The Lord of the Rings for concert band premiered in 1988 with the Groot Harmonieorkest van de Belgische Gidsen conducted by Norbert Nozy. The CD by the military band Koninklijke Militaire Kapel made the symphony famous. The symphony is based on themes from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien; it consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book. In 1989 the symphony was awarded the Sudler Composition Award. Also an orchestral version exists, which premiered in 2001.

[edit] Works (incomplete)

1979 Patchwork for brass sextet
1984-1988 Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"
1. Gandalf
2. Lothlórien
3. Gollum
4. Journey in the Dark
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

1995 Jazz Suite No.2 (of Dmitri Shostakovich) Classical transcription for symphonic/fanfare band
1. March
2. Lyric Waltz
3. Dance I
4. Dance II
5. Waltz no. 2
6. Final

1996 T-Bone Concerto for trombone and concert band
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 cello 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. M.M. e C.C.
8. Finale e Stretto: Il Trionfo dell'Amore
2002 The Venitian Collection
1. Voice of Space (La Voix des Airs)
2. The Red Tower (La Torre Rossa)
3. Magic Garden (Zaubergarten)
4. Empire of Light (L'Empire des Lumières)
Klezmer Classics for wind orchestra
1. Mazltov
2. Dem 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
2005 Extreme Make-over
- Testpiece for the European Brass Band Contest 2005, Groningen-NL.
2006 Symphony No. 3 "Planet Earth"
1. Lonely Planet
2. Planet Earth
3. Mother Earth