After an orchestra career of almost forty years, the farewell for Roelof Meijer, our tall double bass player, is imminent. On Sunday, June 4, he will play for the last time with the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, coincidentally the concert of his own daughter Roos in pop temple PAARD. 

 The circle seems complete with that. Because as a little boy, Roelof was more in the corner of pop music. "I come from a family with five children who all made music. First I got my hands on a mandolin, which was soon traded in for the guitar. In my teens it became electric guitar and bass guitar and I played in a lot of bands. Then came the moment I had to start thinking about what I wanted. Conservatory was classical and so I switched from guitar to double bass. That's how I got into classical music but I certainly haven't forgotten my background in pop music." 

Train
Roelof was born in Utrecht but moved at age seven to Nijverdal, between Deventer and Almelo. "I left home at seventeen to study at the conservatory in Zwolle. A year before my final exams I played in several orchestras, including Residentie Orkest. That was quite an intense time. Meanwhile, I lived in Amsterdam, studied in Zwolle, my teacher was in Leeuwarden and I was often in The Hague with the orchestra. I studied on the train, so to speak. In October 1985 I got an appointment at Residentie Orkest and I never left." 

Sound
The bass group was a relatively older group at the time, according to Roelof. "Of course the best group consists of different ages, but you can't always control that. The group renewed itself within a few years. It will do so again in the coming years and that is good. Surely the biggest change I have experienced is the entire orchestra lineup, which is smaller than it used to be. That affects not only the volume but also the sound. That almost obvious sound has just become different. Which is not to say that wonderful things are not being made now, quite the contrary. Something else is taking its place. But I have always played with great passion and pleasure, otherwise I would never have lasted this long either." 

Passion
The proverbial black hole after retirement is definitely not an issue for Roelof. "I still enjoy teaching at Royal Conservatoire The Hague and also have a number of private students. That remains. I want to inspire them and make sure they always stay passionate, otherwise you won't make it. Sometimes small changes in music can lead to big things. Why do you get goosebumps with one performer and not another, when they may be playing the exact same piece? You always have to keep looking at yourself, what can I change and improve? That would be good for us orchestra musicians as well. Occasionally sitting in the hall and watching and listening to your own orchestra. And I keep discovering music, from Gregorian chant to work written today. Every so often a number of people come to our home, a few of whom play something and talk about it. Nobody knows what's coming and that makes it exciting and new." 

Revolve
And if all that is not enough, Roelof also has his own group called Revolve. In Revolve, three musicians and a jazz singer play music at the intersection of classical, pop, jazz and world music. You could call it a musical picture book, which can be browsed and something new discovered in it each time. "It takes a lot of time because I do almost everything myself: writing lyrics, making music, directing, keeping your instruments in order, providing places to play. But it's wonderful to do." 

Daughter Roos
On June 4, the Residentie Orkest will play with Roos Meijer, indeed, the daughter of. That concert was previously planned in PAARD but could not take place due to corona measures at the time. "It happens to be my Last concert in The Hague," Roelof says. "But it will certainly be special. With Roos it's not just music and lyrics but how she stands in life and how she lends her music to unheard stories of people all over the world. That she stands there with her heart in the right place, that does me a lot."
Jan Jaap Zwitser