Jörgen van Rijen

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, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Taiwan Philharmonic and Nagoya Philharmonic.  In a review of his first , 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...'.
Many new pieces have been written for Jörgen, including a trombone concerto by Theo Verbey, and works by Jacob TV and Florian Magnus Maier. In the spring of  2012 Jörgen has premiered a trombone concerto by Kalevi Aho that was written for him as a commission from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, with concerts with the The Hague Philharmonic, the Oulu Sinfonia in Finland and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. About that last concert The Times wrote: "... van Rijen and Aho turned the trombone into a fount of melodic grace and gambolling, cradled over four generous movements by an equally refined orchestra..." In April 2017 he performed the world premiere of a trombone concerto by James MacMillan composed for him with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer.
Jörgen teaches at the Amsterdam Conservatory and has been appointed International Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London. He is also an active chamber musician in ensembles such as the New Trombone Collective , RCO Brass and Brass United.
He plays exclusively on instruments built by Antoine Courtois.