Jörgen Van Rijen - Biography

Jörgen van Rijen was supported by BBT between 2006 and 2012, when this page was last updated.  For an up-to-date biography visit www.rayfieldallied.com.

Principal trombonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jörgen van Rijen is also much in demand as a soloist with a special commitment to promoting his instrument, developing new repertoire for the trombone and bringing the existing repertoire to a broader audience. He is a specialist on both the modern and baroque trombone. He has performed as a soloist in most European countries and in the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Singapore and Australia, with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. In the coming seasons Jörgen will appear as a soloist with orchestras such as the Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and on tour in Japan with Michel Becquet. Jörgen van Rijen was awarded the Netherlands Music Prize in 2004, the highest distinction in the field of music, by the Dutch Ministry of Culture. In 2006 he received the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Many new pieces have been written for him, including a trombone concerto by Theo Verbey, commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In spring 2012 Jörgen van Rijen premiered a trombone concerto by Kalevi Aho, commissioned by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust with concerts with the Residentie Orchestra, The Hague, Oulu Sinfonia, Finland, and BBC Symphony Orchestra. He teaches at the Amsterdam Conservatory and has been appointed Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London. He is an active chamber musician and was one of the founders of the New Trombone Collective and the RCO Brass. Jörgen van Rijen plays exclusively on instruments built by Antoine Courtois and has released 3 CDs on the label Channel Classics.

As everyone can imagine, it was a real great honour to receive a BBT Award and to feel the support of such a wonderful organisation and group of people. It is fantastic to be able to realise some dream-projects that would probably not have happened without the support of BBT. The award will be used to realise a series of CD recordings and some commissions for new pieces for trombone together with different instruments. The trombone is still a bit unknown as a solo and chamber music instrument. Hopefully these recordings and commissions will contribute to the promotion of the trombone and the development of its repertoire and I am extremely grateful to the BBT to make this possible.

Photographs by Marco Borggreve