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, as well as the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Singapore and Australia and performed concertos with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Jörgen 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. He has won other major prizes, including first prizes at the international trombone competitions of Toulon and Guebwiller. In a review of his first CD, the music magazine Luister wrote: Van Rijen is a real ambassador of his instrument, which is still not often used as a virtuoso brass instrument among composers. But there are not that many trombonists who reach the brilliant level of van Rijen. In sound, dynamic, colour, musical understanding and expressiveness, van Rijen is unequalled. Pieces wrritten for Jörgen van Rijen include a trombone concerto by Theo Verbey commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. This season he will appear in concerts with the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and the Orkest van het Oosten. In 2011/2012 he will premiere a trombone concerto by Kalevi Aho that he has commissioned with the support of Borletti-Buitoni Trust. Jörgen van Rijen teaches at the Rotterdam Conservatory and is an active chamber musician. He was one of the founders of the New Trombone Collective and the RCO Brass and is artistic director of both these ensembles. He plays exclusively on instruments built by Antoine Courtois.

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"..fascinating portrait of a master trombonist... his virtuoso technique need fear no comparison with the best in his field."
Guy Richards, Gramophone Magazine October 2009

"It's difficult not to warm to a disc called I Was Like Wow! ... In a glorious antidote to the trend of forcing instruments to do things they aren't meant to do, here van Rijen has simply produced a disc with some cracking music on it in a sexy and appealing way...Van Rijen's sound is rich, rounded and far removed from the laddish image his instrument is sometimes given...[he is] demonstrating that the trombone is capable of extreme expressiveness. Across a variety of standard pieces and specially commissioned works, he proves that the trombone can really make you go, like, wow."
Hazel Davis, MUSO, June/July 2009

Project: "I was like WOW!" Channel Classics CD released 2009

"The agility of his playing...is impressive...Fans of the trombone will no doubt find this of interest, but the music turns out to be far more worthwhile and rewarding than just a sackbut showcase"
David Vickers, Gramophone October 2008

Project: "Sackbutt", the first of two CDs on Channel Classics. Released 2008.

• Two CDs for Channel Records
• Commissioning of a Trombone Concerto by Kalevi Aho
• Showcase concert at 22 Mansfield Street

General Management

Hermine Sterringa at
telephone: +31 20 778 0466
h.sterringa@chello.nl