Sander van Marion
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Sander van Marion was born in 1938 at Scheveningen in The Netherlands. He receives his musical education at the Royal College of Music in The Hague. He has a unique place among Dutch organists and is becoming 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), and regularly through the USA and Canada, where he has given organ recitals and also made recordings. A few specials and memorable moments could be mentioned: in the USA the organ recitals at Washington Cathedral and St. Thomas Church, New York, and at the 'John Wanamaker Store' in Philadelphia on the largest but one organ in the world; in Europe the recital on the biggest church-organ in the world in the 'Dom' at Passau (Germany), and the recitals on the oldest organ in the world which can still be played, the organ of the 'Cathédrale de Valère' at Sion (Switzerland).
Characteristic for Sander van Marion's performance is his light, sparkling and lively style, sometimes called 'leggièro', his inventive choice of stops and timbre, and his talent for improvisation -where feeling and atmosphere play important parts - because of which he is much in demand as a musician, in his own country as well as abroad. Sander van Marion is employed as organist of the 'Bethelkerk' at The Hague-Scheveningen. Its two organs, a main organ an a smaller choir organ, can be played individually as well as simultaneously, which has a special effect all of its own.
As conductor of an Oratorio Choir and several Men's Choirs he has regularly been on concert tours in Europe as well as abroad. Besides the many performances of famous oratoria, such as the 'Messiah' by Händel, the 'Schöpfung' ('Creation') by Haydn and the 'Paul' by Mendelssohn, Sander van Marion also edited, arranged and perfomed unknown music which he found in the Music Library at Berlin and of the Monastry at Eindiedeln, Switzerland, among which are 'Dixit Dominus' by Joh. Chr. Bach and 'Wie ist Dein Name so gross' by Georg Fr. Telemann. Sander van Marion's performance of the oratorium 'Matthäus' by Georg Fr. Telemann was a first performance in the Netherlands, whereas his performance of 'The Promise of Christmas' by the American composer Dan Burgess was the first European performance. Sander van Marion is also known as a composer of organ compositions and choral works, which mostly originate from his practical experience. Several of these have been published, as have some volumes of children's songs. A large number of records, among which three 'Golden Records' illustrate his musical creative talents. Time and again Sander van Marion knows how to captivate a large audience bij his wonderful gifts and the love of his profession.
On the occasion of his 25th anniversary as a musician, Sander van Marion was decorated with the 'Zilveren Erepenning' (Silver Medal of Honour), by the Minister of Cultural Affairs of the Netherlands. On the occasion of his 40th anniversary as a musician he was awarded with the prestigeous 'Médaille d'Argent' by the Société Académique 'Arts, Sciences et Lettres' in Paris, in 2003 the 'Médaille de Vermeil' and in 2012 the special 'Médaille d'Or' also. In 1997 Sander van Marion was greatly honoured by being 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.
