Ramapo College CantaNOVA
Dr. Lisa Lutter, Director
Ramapo College Concert Band
Dr. Christian Wilhjelm, Director
The NJWS opens it 40th concert season with guest conductor and composer Johan de Meij and welcomes saxophone soloist Hans de Jong (Royal Conservatoire, Belgium). Our concert features two works written by guest conductor Johan de Meij. A transcription of Suppe’s classic Morning, Noon and Night, marches by John Williams and Sousa and an inspiring work of hope by Frank Ticheli round out the first concert of our season.
Dutch composer and conductor Johan de Meij (Voorburg, 1953) received his musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague, where he studied trombone and conducting. His award-winning oeuvre of 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. Read More
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.
When not traveling, Johan divides his time between his Hudson Valley home and his Manhattan apartment with his wife and muse Dyan, cats Lenny, Gustavo, Tosca & Lulu and doggy Lucy.
Hans de Jong combines his activities as a saxophone soloist and chamber music playing with composing and teaching. He is Professor of Classical Saxophone and chamber music at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerpen, Belgium. About 150 compositions are dedicated to him: especially chamber music in various combinations but also concertos by René Pieper, Kees Schoonenbeek, Tera de Marez Oyens, Henk Badings, Kees van Unen, Jo van den Booren, Joop Voorn, Raoul De Smet, Janpieter Biesemans, Marc Verhaegen, Frits Celis, Alexander Raskatov, Martin Vojtisek, Liana Alexandra and Patrick De Clerck.Read More
Hans de Jong also composed 3 saxophone concertos. In cooperation with Paul Hermsen (piano) he produced the seven part CD series “Vintage of European Saxophone Music” with exclusively original chamber music compositions for saxophone and piano, released on Casa Nova Records.
As a composer and saxophone player he won contests in Corciano, Martigny and Antwerpen. De Jong presented Master classes at the Kungl. Musikhögskolan Stockholm, Tokyo University, Hochschule Köln, Hochschule Berlin, Royal College London, Sibelius Academy Helsinki, Royal College Aarhus Denmark, Conservatorio Supérior de Madrid, Conservatorio Supérior de Oviedo, Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, Hochschule Basel, Fréderic Chopin Academy Warszawa, Hans Eisler Berlin, Conservatorio Statale de Firenze, Conservatorio G.B. Martini Bologna, Conservatorio de Salerno and Conservatoires in Vilnius, Utrecht, Enschede, Menorca, Alicante, Gunma and Kobe.
Echoes of San Marco – Johan de Meij
“Fellini” for solo Alto Saxophone, Circus Band and Wind Orchestra- Johan de Meij
Saxophone Soloist – Hans de Jong
Morning Noon and Night in Vienna – Franz von Suppe, arr. Fillmore
Dauntless Battalion – John Phillip Sousa
Midway March – John Williams
American Elegy – Frank Ticheli
Program Subject To Change
All New Jersey Wind Symphony Subscription Concerts are held at the West Side Presbyterian Church, Ridgewood, NJ. West Side Presbyterian Church is fully ADA compliant providing handicap accessible entry to the concert venue as well as bathroom facilities. Important signage and directions are presented in braille..