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Join us for an unforgettable evening of music as the Fountain City Brass Band presents “Extreme Make-over: The Music of Johan de Meij.” Featuring internationally acclaimed trombone soloist Marshall Gilkes, and conducted by Johan de Meij and Joseph Parisi, this concert promises to be an extraordinary musical experience.
Johan de Meij
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.
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 Manhattan- and Amsterdam apartments with his wife and muse Dyan, cats Lenny, Gustavo, Tosca & Lulu and doggy Lucy.
To follow Johan’s whereabouts, please click EVENTS
AWARDS & PRIZES
1989 1st Prize at The Sudler International Composition Competition Award for Symphony no. 1 The Lord of the Rings
1995 Honorable Mention International Composition Competition of Corciano – Italy for Symphony No. 2 The Big Apple
1999 1st Prize at The International Composition Competition of Corciano – Italy for Casanova (for cello & wind orchestra)
2000 1st Prize at The Oman International Composition Prize for The Red Tower
2001 The Midwest Clinic International Award – Chicago, Illinois – USA
2006 2nd Prize at The International Composition Competition of Corciano – Italy for Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth
2007 Dutch Wind Music Award/Prijs Nederlandse Blaasmuziek
2009 Friends of the WMC Award – Kerkrade, The Netherlands
2016 2nd Prize at The International Composition Competition of Corciano – Italy for Echoes of San Marco
2016 1st Prize at The 6th International Composition Contest City of Muro – Spain for Fifty Shades of E
2017 Buma Classical Award – The Netherlands
2017 Nominated for the Vermeulen Prize 2017 for FELLINI (Omaggio a Federico Fellini)
2017 Finalist for the WASBE Composition Contest with African Harmony (Songs from Mama Africa)
2018 Midwest Clinic Legend Award for Lifetime Contributions to Music Education – Chicago, Illinois – USA
2019 Nominated for the Vermeulen Prize 2019 for Symphony No. 5 Return to Middle Earth
2021 Nominated for the Vermeulen Prize 2021 for UN MOMENTO DADO (Homenaje en Memoria de Johan Cruijff)
2021 Nominated for the Vermeulen Prize 2021 for DA VINCI (A Study on Ivory Keys)
2021 Winner of Europe’s Favorite Set Test Piece with EXTREME MAKEOVER (Metamorphoses on a Theme by Tchaikovsky) Organized by the EBBA, the European Brass Band Association.
2022 2nd Prize and an Honorable Mention at the 1st International Composition Contest of Filharmonica Imolese, Imola – Italy, for The Year 2020
2022 Best Feature Film at the Environmental Film & Screenplay Festival 2022 for Cine-Symphony PLANET EARTH (Symphony No. 3)
2022 Buma Wind Music Award – The Netherlands
2022 Special Mention at the 1st Wind Composition Contest Saxony, organized by the Dresdner Bläserphilharmonie for MONDRIAAN – An Essay in Primary Colors (for baritone saxophone & wind orchestra)
2022 Woodstock Film Festival Award for Cine-Symphony PLANET EARTH (Symphony No. 3) a film by Dyan Machan & Jed Parker
2023 Nominated for the Vermeulen Prize 2023 for THE PAINTED BIRD (A Cry against Fascism)
2023 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival Award for Cine-Symphony PLANET EARTH (Symphony No. 3) a film by Dyan Machan & Jed Parker
2023 1st Prize @ the Cleveland Arthouse Film Awards: Cine-Symphony PLANET EARTH (Symphony No. 3) a film by Dyan Machan & Jed Parker
2023 Winner Award of Merit at the IndieFEST Film Awards or Cine-Symphony PLANET EARTH (Symphony No. 3) a film by Dyan Machan & Jed Parker
2023 Winner of the San Francisco Arthouse Short Festival:CASANOVA & THE THREE GRACES, a film by Dyan Machan & Jed Parker
2023 Best Musical Film Feature at the ROME Music Video Awards: CASANOVA & THE THREE GRACES, a film by Dyan Machan & Jed Parker
Marshall Gilkes
Over the course of the past 20 years, Marshall Gilkes has established himself as one of the world’s preeminent trombonists. A nonpareil artist at the forefront of brass playing, his virtuosic command of the instrument, marked by a warm and enveloping tone, Herculean chops, astounding flexibility and awe-inspiring range, place him in a league of his own.
With an incredible work ethic focused and shaped through his Juilliard training, Gilkes quickly became a force to be reckoned with, earning serious praise when he arrived on the scene near the dawn of the millennium. His debut leader date—2004’s Edenderry—was an instant head-turner, presenting ear-catching compositions showcasing dexterous slide work and an appreciation for high-level interplay. Released on the heels of his appearance as a finalist in the 2003 Thelonious Monk Institute International Trombone Competition, it served as a clear indicator of Gilkes’ emerging artistry. Broadening the scope of his imagination, he then looked toward the quintet format for 2008’s Lost Words and 2012’s Sound Stories.
Underscoring Gilkes’ many and varied strengths on trombone, each of those early releases also highlighted his work as a composer. But it was a pair of sequential albums with Germany’s WDR Big Band—an outgrowth of the trombonist’s four-year tenure with that ensemble (from 2010 to 2014)—that took things to the next level. 2015’s Köln, offering a 360-degree look at Gilkes as a writer, arranger, conductor and soloist, was a triumph of epic proportions, earning rave reviews and two Grammy nominations. An equally impressive follow-up—2018’s Always Forward—served as a compelling companion piece, cementing his status as one of the great big band composers of the modern era.
Shifting gears after establishing his authority in the large ensemble domain, Gilkes furthered his unique musical outlook while fulfilling long-held ambitions of two very different sorts: 2020’s Waiting to Continue, recorded when studios first reopened shortly after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed the height, depth and breadth of his powers in the piano-less trio format; and 2022’s Cyclic Journey, uniting an all-star brass octet with a blue-chip jazz combo to present an original suite built to represent daily life in all its grounding glory, spoke to a boundless artistry.
In 2023, Gilkes and trumpeter Brandon Ridenour joined forces as co-leaders and delivered the eponymous debut from Brassology, a beyond-category brass ensemble eliminating jazz-classical divides and pushing boundaries with its art. And several months after that album arrived, in early 2024, Gilkes released LifeSongs, his third thrilling outing with the WDR Big Band. A breathtaking collection of material tied directly to our times, it channels the present moment both in the trombonist’s personal sphere and the greater whole we all inhabit.
Through those albums, Gilkes has carved out his place as a leader of note. And with his work as a first-call sideman, in parallel to those efforts, he’s demonstrated incomparable might and adaptability. Gilkes has made his mark performing and/or recording with bassist Carlos Henriquez, harpist Edmar Castañeda, the New York Philharmonic, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Slide Monsters, bassist Richard Bona, pianist Makoto Ozone and numerous other top-tier musicians and outfits. And through his work with the WDR Big Band and as a longtime member of the Maria Schneider Orchestra, he’s played himself into the rich history of large ensemble music.
A marvel of musicality sought after and highly respected in both the jazz and classical worlds, Gilkes has earned his rightful place in the upper echelon of both realms. Not surprisingly, his vast experience and genre-straddling skills have made him an in-demand educator. At various points in his career, Gilkes has served on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory of Music. In addition, he’s shared his knowledge and skills through master classes, clinics, guest appearances and teaching at other venerable institutions including the Banff Center, University of North Texas, the Brubeck Institute, Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. An S. E. Shires Artist, Gilkes performs on his signature model trombone—an instrument as versatile as its inspiration.
