An Evening With Johan de Meij

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.

Since 1993 Henk van Twillert recorded numerous CD’s and performed as a soloist with the Amsterdam Soloist Quintet. This co-operation resulted in the highly successfully productions “Tango, a homage to Astor Piazzolla” together with violinist Sonja van Beek, and “Homage to Heitor Villa-Lobos”. 2001 became a landmark in the career of Henk van Twillert when recorded for the first time the famous Solo Cello Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach on the baritone saxophone. In 2002 Van Twillert recorded a CD with Portuguese fado music, “Saudades” together with the Grammy awarded Portuguese singer Carlos do Carmo. From 2006 on he was invited to the Newport Music Festival in USA. Together with the Latvian soprano Inessa Galante he recorded the CD “Confesso”. The duo, Henk van Twillert and pianist Tjako van Schie, formed in 1986, has been perfoeming in many places in Holland, Portugal and in the Dutch Antilles. In 2011 presented their triple CD “A Bag of Music”.

Between 2009 and 2011 Henk van Twillert was residing in New York where he worked on his Ph.D. At the same time Henk started songwriting and completed his first album “New York” as singer / bandleader: Mr. Henk & Band. In March 2012 Henk van Twillert made his debut with Carlos do Carmo at the prestigious theatre “Carre” in Amsterdam.

In the season 2012/2013 Henk van Twillert started the concert serie “Meet the artists” in Amsterdam and Rotterdam where he invited musical colleagues to join him on stage. Due the success of the concert serie, this serie of concerts went on in the season 2013/2014 and 2014/ 2015.

After 25 years tutor teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory Henk van Twillert become a tutor teacher of Saxophone at ESMAE – the Superior School of Music and Performing Arts in Porto, Portugal, where he formed several saxophone ensembles amongst others Portuguese Saxophone Orchestra and Vento do Norte.

Henk van Twillert also worked regularly with the saxophone class of El Sistema – National Network of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela. Van Twillert always combines love for music and teaching by giving workshops, master classes and concerts around the world. In his pocket he carries his special music program for children “Stars of the Future”. On June 2013 Henk van Twillert got his doctor degree with the public defense of his thesis in “Bach’s Cello Suites Transcription and Interpretation for Baritone Saxophone”.