Elias Luijten (23) is a Dutch flugelhorn player, composer and producer making the absurd real. His idols in playing and writing are Pharoah Sanders, MF Doom, Sun Ra and many others.
On his final recital Elias unleashes the completely new repertoire he composed for his Melancholic Spacejazzband The Starpeople, which they also perform with at the main stage of Music Meeting 2025 the following Monday. Simultaneously Elias is making his debut as a movie director and composer presenting a short movie inspired by dadaism and American shitculture. The untitled and ill-defined film features himself and his father as the main, and only, characters as well as fully original music made with a whole bunch of dusty old music gear portraying Elias’ persona as analog producer.
The Starpeople is the brainchild of Elias and his soulmate Fee Aaij (piano) originating in the adoration they share for the music of McCoy Tyner and John and Alice Coltrane. If you know this music, you can imagine that when Elias and Fee met it felt as if they spoke the same alien language. The Starpeople became the output for their passionate visions on music and humanity. In 2023 they released a self-produced EP called Happening #1 starring ArtEZ heroes André Groen (percussion), Jeroen Pek (flutes) and Mete Erker (saxophone/bass clarinet) and together with Mete also hosted a Starpeople jam at Paradox Tilburg.
For his final recital Elias put together a true star crew he has grown very fond of:
Wiro Mahieu – upright bass
Qisheng Zheng – flute
Min Won – drums
Fee Aaij – piano
Movie crew:
Sem Willemsen - co-producer, director and cameraman
Jan Luijten - actor
Elias Luijten - writer, actor, producer and director
Between 2 June and 1 July 2025, the finalists of the Jazz & Pop, Music Theatre, Composition for Film and Theatre and Master of Music programmes of the of ArtEZ Conservatorium Arnhem will play their graduation performances.
Most ArtEZ Conservatorium Arnhem graduation performances are free to attend.
For some performances, a (free) ticket must be reserved via the button on this page.
Ticket sale starts on 1 May 2025 and ends 2 hours before the show starts.
