Wiek Hijmans

Was born in 1967 in Holland. He has played the electric guitar since the age of eleven. He studied the guitar at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of David Starobin. His interest in both (contemporary) classical and popular music gave him a task for life: integrating the electric guitar into the classical tradition, thus enriching it with a new world of sounds. The influences of jazz and rock, coupled with his extensive experience as an improviser have made Hijmans
a typical exponent of the current state of music, both as a performer and composer.
Foreign tours have taken him, as a soloist and ensemble player, to many places, from Moscow to Vancouver, from Helsinki to Palermo, from Bratislava to New York. He has given recitals at the Colorado New Music Festival in Denver, the Segovia New Music Festival, OContrechamps/Archipel1 in Geneva, and the Barcelona New Music Cycle. Two years ago he made his debut at the OWarsaw Autumn1 (with ONieuw Ensemble1 from Amsterdam).
He also performed at Xiamen University in China, the Holland Festival1s Night of the Electric Guitar at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (June 2003) and the International Guitar Festival in Copenhagen (August 2003).
He has collaborated with major Dutch new music groups, as well as in duos with the classical guitar master David Starobin, the Australian violinist Anna McMichael, and the Dutch-American arts collective OTonk1, of which he is a co-director. He is holder of the Andres Segovia Award (1997). He has received numerous commissions from the Dutch Fund for Compositions and took part in the recording of about two dozens pf CDs. Hijmans appears regularly in radio and tv. He has given masterclasses, at the universities in Colorado and Barcelona and at the Conservatory in Amsterdam. He is also one of the directors of x-or Records Company.

Selected works: Voor kenvermogens for chamber ensemble (1985), various compositions for jazz combos and other small groups (1986­1990), several pieces for electric guitar and string quintet (mondrian quartet) (1991­92), Anouschka for ensemble (1991), Burn for chamber orchestra (1995), Up for solo electric guitar (1995), Dance for ensemble (1996), Carrousel for electric guitar (1999), Late night sunrise for Mosaic-quartet (2000), Prelude Triple Zero for solo electric guitar (2000), Yes for Mosaic-quartet (2001), Morning for large chamber ensemble (2002).