National Youth Jazz Orchestra of the Netherlands (NJJO) Since 2009, the NJJO has been the springboard for super talented, young professionals up to 26 years old. The artistic director as well as the line up of the orchestra changes every 2 yearly edition. With a custom-composed and arranged program, the NJJO will undertake several tours and media performances and will participate in exclusive national and international collaborative projects. Present artistic director NJJO: Maite Hontelé. Former directors NJJO: Peter Guidi, Benjamin Herman, Martin Fondse, Eric Vloeimans, Anton Goudsmit, Ruben Hein and Maarten Hoogenhuis. www.njjo.nl Conductor, coach, curator and soloist NJJO 2023 -2024: Maite Hontelé Between 2009 and 2018, trumpeter (flugelhorn) and bandleader Maite Hontelé lived in Colombia. A decade in which she released 5 CDs and gave many concerts all over the world with her own Latin band. The albums Déjame Así and Cuba Linda were nominated for a Latin Grammy. Cuba Linda won a Cubadisco award for best international album in 2019 and was on the list of nominees for an Edison Jazz/World in 2020. Hontelé: “Mambo is a broad and sparkling Latin genre. It is always in style and lends itself well to different 'packaging'. There is plenty of space for solos and improvisation in the pieces, but the rhythm section and in particular the percussion also play an important role. Depth and cheerfulness guaranteed!"