Jan Willem Takes A Luyken To NSJ

Jan Willem Luyken has left his job as Mojo Concerts‘ head of marketing and communications to run the company’s world-famous North Sea Jazz Festival.

He succeeds Theo van den Hoek, who’s stepping down as director of the event he’s been involved with since 1977.

He officially departed March 1st but Luyken, who has spent four years running Mojo’s press, marketing, promotion and corporate communications, took up the role at the beginning of the year.

“Since 1982 I have not missed a single edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival. So I am more than happy to be able to succeed Theo. I cannot imagine a more perfect job,” he said in a note on the Mojo Web site.

Van den Hoek, who last month received the International Association For Jazz Education’s Lawrence Berk Leadership Award, will continue to be associated with NSJ as adviser on international projects.

He decided to step down in September and said it wasn’t easy. But he said the festival’s move from The Hague to Rotterdam was the right time for him to be giving a new team plenty of space to determine and further develop the event.

Luyken said the move to Rotterdam Ahoy, which comes as a result of redevelopment of its former home at the Netherlands Congress Centre, won’t be detrimental to the festival’s character.

“It will be just the same as it was at The Hague,” he insisted. A 10-year contract to stage it at the Ahoy seems to indicate the company sees the venue as NSJ’s new long-term home.

Luyken’s role as head of marketing and communications goes to Marjanne Manders, who is stepping up after spending 12 years working in the department. This year’s North Sea Jazz Festival is July 14-16.

– John Gammon