Johan van der Voet

Johan van der Voet (born 18 June 1970 in Leiden — birthplace of Rembrandt) is a Dutch film and media composer, pianist and multi-instrumentalist based in Utrecht. He graduated from the Utrecht School of the Arts with a degree in Music Technology, majoring in Film & TV music, and studied guitar, piano, singing and conducting at the Utrecht Conservatory. He fell in love with film scoring through the work of James Horner, Michael Kamen and Carter Burwell, long before he realised he could do it himself.

At 35 he moved to London to break into the industry, founding his post-production company Soundgram Post along the way. The first feature he scored was “Clocking Paper” (2007) — a small release that gave him an early taste of the industry, and a formative connection to then-unknown story editor Kor Adana, who would later co-produce Mr. Robot.

Over a 25-year career and counting, Johan has scored nearly 100 films, documentaries and television productions — from the horror feature “Kristen” and thriller “Het Verhoor,” both directed by Mark Weistra, to the family adventure “De Club van Vijf” and the award-winning documentary “Wognum.” His catalogue spans crime, medical and horror genres, but his specialty is intricate orchestral writing and ambient soundscapes for character-driven drama and documentary — music scored precisely to picture, in service of the story, first and foremost.

His music has reached international screens through Discovery Channel, NBC, MTV, the BBC, ZDF and McDonald’s campaigns, among others. His work has picked up recognition throughout: a Buma Award nomination for Best Media Composer, a Jury Prize nomination at the Tilburg Film Festival, the Pathé Tuschinski Award for Best Graduation Film at the Nederlands Film Festival for “Wognum,” and, most recently, the Best Original Score award at the Your Way International Film Festival for “De Club van 5.”

Beyond composing, Johan is a member of ECSA, a former board member of Buma/Stemra, and led the Dutch society of media composers (BCMM) as president for ten years before stepping down in 2018. He also owns and manages Soundgram Music and Final Cue, two international music production libraries represented by sub-publishers around the world.

With his debut solo album “Notes of Reflection,” Johan steps from the screen to the concert hall — a collection of introspective piano pieces that trade picture for open, personal reflection.