Meet the Philharmonic’s new assistant conductor.

Winner of the Jan Royce Foundation Prize and the Peter Klatzow prize for Best Symphonic Composition, Johannes Visser received his Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Piano Summa Cum Laude and completed his Master of Music Composition degree on the highly prestigious Bomhard Fellowship. He has also obtained an intensive Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Contemporary Art Music Composition at the University of Maryland. Recently, Johannes, had a variety of notable composition premieres including performances of drie gedigte oor plekke by Alarm Will Sound, vlug 295 by the JACK quartet, and prelude vir koperblaaskwintet by Barclay Brass.

Johannes’ endeavours in orchestral conducting strive for a well-rounded exposure to orchestral literature, with a careful balance between standard repertoire and contemporary music. Furthermore, Johannes’ undiluted energy and expressive conducting language offer a unique and refreshing take on modern conducting. He recently attended the Pierre Monteux festival for conductors and instrumentalists and had the opportunity to conduct the premiere reading of his new orchestral work vyf afrikaanse danse with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra.

In his acoustic compositions, Johannes is focusing on vocal and orchestral writing. His South African heritage plays a significant role in his compositions as it is important for him to express his cultural identity through music. Additionally, Johannes’ research in electronic and experimental music delves into the world of computer-assisted sound generation and processing as well as noise-based, improvisatory, and conceptual sound art creation.