DeJong, Conrad

Conrad de Jong was born in Hull, Iowa, in 1934. He received the Bachelor of Music degree from North Texas State University in 1954 where he studied music composition with Violet Archer. After two years in the army, he attended Indiana University where he received the Master of Music degree in 1959 while staying composition with Bernhard Heiden. He also studied with Ton de Leeuw at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music. He was appointed to the music faculty at the university of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1959 and taught there until his retirement in 1990.
De Jong has 30 published compositions to his credit and, since 1970, has received annual awards from ASCAP. In 1980 he was a featured composer at New Music America. His work has also been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Town Hall in New York City, and on the NBC television Today Show.
De Jong's music is eclectic in style and medium. It ranges from the simple piano solo, Little Suite, written for his young daughter in 1972, to works involving large numbers of instruments and voices with electronic modifications.