Sunday August 15, 2021 at 4 PM Eastern

 “A Conversation with Johan de Meij”

Information about the session:
This is the second in a series of ACB Conversations. ACB President Gail Brechting will talk with Composer Johan de Meij about his long career and his love of wind band music. He will share details from his early days in composing his Symphony No. 1 “Lord of the Rings” and talk with us about arranging for wind band. Find out about his current projects and his thoughts on the future of community bands.

Dutch composer and conductor Johan de Meij received his musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague, where he studied trombone and conducting. His award-winning original compositions, symphonic  transcriptions and film score arrangements has garnered him international acclaim and have become permanent fixtures in the repertoire of renowned ensembles throughout the world. His Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings was awarded the prestigious Sudler Composition Prize and has been recorded by myriad ensembles including The London Symphony Orchestra, The North Netherlands Orchestra, The Nagoya Philharmonic and The Amsterdam Wind Orchestra. His Symphony No. 2 The Big Apple, Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth, Symphony No. 4 Sinfonie der Lieder as well as his solo concertos, T-Bone Concerto (trombone), UFO Concerto (euphonium) and Casanova(cello) have been enthusiastically received at many of the world’s finest venues. 

Before devoting his time exclusively to composing and conducting, Johan de Meij enjoyed a successful professional career as a trombone and  Euphonium player, performing with major orchestras and ensembles in The Netherlands. He is in high demand as a guest conductor and lecturer, frequently invited to speak about and perform his own works. In 2010, he was appointed regular guest conductor of the Simón Bolívar Youth Wind Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela – part of the celebrated Venezuelan educational system El Sistema. He currently maintains posts with both the New York Wind Symphony and the Kyushu Wind Orchestra in Fukuoka, Japan as their principal guest conductor. Johan is founder and CEO of his
own publishing company Amstel Music, established in 1989.

Our moderator for today’s session is Gail Brechting. Gail is President of the Association of Concert Bands and is the conductor and music director of the West Michigan Concert Winds.

Links to items that are expected to be discussed during the conversation,  but if the conversation goes down another path, these resources are presented to you here to explore.