Mark you calendars! November 1 – 4, 2018 is the date for a large, international Tolkien conference to be held at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Organizer Brad Eden has commissioned a new composition to be premiered at this conference by Johan de Meij, composer of Symphony #1 (Lord of the Rings), which he conducted during the 2013 Hobbit conference at Valparaiso. You can listen to part of that performance here:

---

 

---

Brad has set up a  GoFundMe page to raise the funds to pay Johan for this commission. As Brad notes, “those who give $250, $500, and $1,000 or more will be listed in the program at various levels of support and forever linked to this composition.”

https://www.gofundme.com/return-to-myddle-erde-symphony

You can read more about Johan de Meij’s work on his website, The Music of Johan de Meij. Brad has also invited Simon Tolkien, the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, to talk about his novels, and he is currently lining up plenary speakers as well as topics and themes for papers and panel discussions. He will have more details in the next few months. If you’re attending the PCA/ACA, Kalamazoo, or Leeds conferences, be sure to ask Brad for more information.