Sander  van  Marion

Sander van Marion was born in 1938 in Scheveningen, The Netherlands. He received his musical education at the Royal College of Music in The Hague. His place among Dutch organists is uniqueand he is quite well-known in the international world of music.

Concert tours have led him through many European countries, as well as to the Caribbean (Curacao and Aruba), the USA and Canada, where he has given organ recitals and made recordings. A few memorable occasions in the USA are the recitals at Washington Cathedral at St. Thomas Church, New York, and at the 'John Wanamaker Store' in Philadelphia (the largest but one organ in the world). In Europe one could mention the recital on the biggest church-organ in the world in the 'Dom' at Passau (Germany), and in contrast to that the recitals on the small and beautiful organ of the 'Cathédrale de Valère' at Sion (Switzerland), the oldest organ in the world which can still be played. He has also given recitals and made recordings on well-known Spanisch pipe-organs. 

 

Characteristic for the organist's performance is his light, sparkling and lively style, sometimes called 'leggièro', his inventive choice of stops, and his talent for improvisation.  Because of these gifts he is n much in demand as a musician, in his own country as well as abroad. During a period of 60 years Sander van Marion was employed as organist and choirmaster of the 'Bethelkerk' in Scheveningen (part of The Hague). Its two organs, a main organ an a smaller choir organ, can be played individually as well as simultaneously, the resulting effects are very special.

As conductor of several Choral Societies and Male Voice Choirs, he has regularly been on international concert tours. Besides the many performances of famous oratoria by Händel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, Van Marion also edited, arranged and perfomed several musical scores of old masters,  which he discovered in the Music Library of the Monastry at Eindiedeln, Switzerland, and in the Music Library in Berlin. His performance of "Matthäus", an oratorium by by Georg Fr. Telemann, was a premiere in the Netherlands. His performance of 'The Promise of Christmas' by the American composer Dan Burgess was a first in European.

Sander van Marion is also known as a composer of organ compositions and choral works, which have their main origin in his practice as a choirmaster. Several of these have been published, as have some volumes of children's songs. A large number of records, among which three 'Golden Records' are a testimony of his musical and creative talents. Time and again Sander van Marion knows how to captivate a large audience by his wonderful gifts and the love of his profession.

Sander van Marion recieved several awards, medals and decorations. He was awarded with the 'Zilveren Erepenning' (Silver Medal of Honour), by the Minister of Cultural Affairs of the Netherlands, and with medals from The Hague, Katwijk and Zoetermeer. As one of only a select group of Dutch organists he was awarded with the prestigeous 'Médaille d'Or' by the Société Académique d'Education et Encouragement "ARTS-SCIENCES-LETTRES" in Paris for his contribution to French organ music. In 1997 the organist was made 'Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau' by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, in recognition of his great dedication to the promotion of musical life in the Netherlands for well over 40 years.