Johan Zwart
Electronic music composer & AVID-editor
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I was born in April 1947 in Haarlem (The Netherlands)
My musical carrier started when I was about 8 years old with mouthharmonica in an ensemble of the playground club At 9 years old I had my debut in a concert with that ensemble at an theater in the Smedestraat in Haarlem.
When I was 10 years old I joined the 'Sint Joris drumband where I played the signal trumpet

At 16 years old a friend, Andre Gouw, from the drum band invited me at his home and introduced me to the music of Bartók and Shostakovich. I must admit, until then I wasn't very aware of contemporary music. So it was a real eye-opener for me. We listened for hours on a plastic portable pickup. Not hifi really.
From there on I started exploring other music like jazz (Bebop, Modern jazz i.e.). The first record I bought was 'Brass Bag', a record of a trombone choir with Gerald Wilson Arrangements on the  Fontana Pacific Jazz label. And then came across electronic music home I do not remember what first record but one them was "Silver Apples Of The Moon" by morton subotnick it made a big impression on me.
I started my first experimenting with electronic music using a simple cassette recorder and a microphone. The microphone I used for creating sounds by moving and ticking on all kind of surfaces and creating feedback from the loudspeaker.
Later, when I had bought my first (Sony) tape deck and build a simple mixer and I mixed it to stereo. The result can be heard in "Landscape 1" and "Dialog for two loudspeakers".
I build a few more project's like an oscillator and a stylophone that I used in "Moving Objects 2". And in 1972 I bought my first synthesizer, a Cynthi AKS.


In 1980 I did a course at the 'Institute for Sonology' in Utrecht the Netherlands (sound syntheses and composition electronic music)

  From 1987 to 1989 I did a course about "The Esoteric Approach of music" with Jan Duindam. A course about the use of regenerative powers and psychoacoustic qualities of music. During this course I also learned the basics of overtone singing and in 1989 I explored the art of oovertone singing with Diem Groeneveld. At the end of the course we performed in a closing-concert as the "Utrechts Boventoonkoor" in the Pieterskerk in  Utrecht and later in Amsterdam together with the "Amsterdam Boventoonkoor".

In October 1990 I performed as guest overtone singer in the "Choire partita on Psalm 65" from The New Utrechts Psalter, for the 10 year jubilee-CD of  the "Schola Davidica Utrecht" .
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Last update for PRG studio

In 1990 I started working as a volunteer for the 'Provincial Raad voor het Gehandicaptenbeleid' (P.R.G.) in Arnhem as a (audio)technician.
There I was engaged in starting new AV-studio project for reading information on to cassette tape for the visual disabled and the production of slide-presentations for educational and informational purposes. Apart from the design- technical advice for the studio itself studio, it was my job to install and maintain it studio.
Together with other volunteers, I did recording of narration and voice-overs and some music projects and also produced several AV-projects.

In 1997 I started as a volunteer at local TV-station (Omroep Utrecht RTV) as an ENG-sound man where later I also started editing news items on a linear Umatic two machine edit set. 
After a while the Umatic-set was replaced by a computer-controlled edit set (LIFT) en DVC-Pro machines, Around 2000 I began editing on AVID Media Composer. 
In 2001 I started working as a freelance Avid editor. I did work for RNTC, AT5 and Danzon Productions. At the moment I still work for MTNL (Multicultural Television Netherlands)

In 2003 I recorded and produced the CD "Shandiz, A cycle of Iranian folksongs” for the Ensemble Shandiz and in 2008 I created the website for this ensemble. Currrently working on the second CD "Old songs/Folk songs".