Meet
The Composer
Johan
de Meij studied trombone and conducting at the Royal Conservatory
of Music at The Hague. He has earned international fame as a composer
and arranger. His catalogue consists of original compositions, symphonic
transcriptions and arrangements of film scores and musicals.“A book for those who keep the spirit of youth alive in them; of life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, winter firesides” said author Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) about his children’s book The Wind in the Willows. "Initially, he wrote the stories about Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad to read to his visually handicapped son Alistair, but after the publication in book form in 1908, it became a worldwide success. It was later also turned into a film and a television series. What appeals to me most," says de Meij," is the friendly, very cosy atmosphere that Grahame has managed to create with his optimistic narrative style full of high spirits, an atmosphere that reminds me of my own carefree youth. It was therefore a great pleasure to set this book to music!" His Symphony No. 1, The Lord Of The Rings, is based on Tolkien's best-seller novels of the same name. His other larger compositions, such as Symphony no. 2, The Big Apple, T-Bone Concerto (for trombone and wind orchestra) and Casanova (for violoncello and wind orchestra) are also in the repertoire of the better bands all over the world. It was
awarded
the First Prize at the International Composition Competition of Corciano,
Italy in 1999. A year later, de Meij won the Oman International Composition
Prize with The Red Tower. Besides composing, Johan de Meij is also very active in various musical fields. He serves as trombonist with the Orchestra "De Volharding" (The Perseverance), The Amsterdam Wind Orchestra and as a regular substitute with the Radio Chamber Orchestra. He is much in demand as a guest conductor: he has conducted concerts and presented seminars in most all European countries, in Japan, Singapore, Brazil and the United States.
