Johan de Meij

Johan de Meij, world-renowned award-winning composer and conductor of Dutch descent has built an impressive oeuvre over the last four decades. His creations have been performed by the world’s top orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. His orchestral catalogue includes five symphonies, nine major solo concertos and a wide variety of smaller works. His Symphony No.1 The Lord of the Rings (1988), having marked its 35th year in 2023, has become a classic in the orchestra repertoire, and is one of the most performed works in the literature. De Meij is founder and CEO of his publishing company Amstel Music, established in 1989. In 2010, he was appointed principal guest conductor of the Simón Bolívar Youth Wind Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela – part of the celebrated Venezuelan educational system El Sistema. In 2014 he became principal guest conductor with both the New York Wind Symphony and the Kyushu Wind Orchestra in Fukuoka, Japan. When not traveling, Johan divides his time between his Hudson Valley home and Manhattan- and Amsterdam apartments with his wife and muse Dyan, cats Lenny, Gustavo, Tosca & Lulu and doggy Lucy.