'..Van Rijen is a real ambassador of his instrument, which is still not often used as a virtuosic brassinstrument among composers. But there are not that many trombonists that reach the brilliant level of Van Rijen. In sound, dynamic, color, musical understanding and expressiveness Van Rijen is unequalled.(...) Van Rijen is a great musician. He could grow into a Dutch Christian Lindberg..'

Dutch music magazine 'Luister' in a review over the first solo cd of Jörgen van Rijen, which they rewarded with a 10.

Jörgen van Rijen studied with George Wiegel at the Rotterdam Conservatory, where he finished his solo degree with the highest possible mark, 10 summa cum laude. He continued his studies with Michel Becquet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon, where he also studied baroque trombone with Daniel Lasalle. In addition he attended lessons and master classes with authorities including Christian Lindberg, Joseph Alessi, Jay Friedman, bassoonist Brian Pollard and the cellist Anner Bijlsma.

Since 1997 Jörgen has been principal trombonist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, of which he was the youngest member for several years. Previously he held the same position with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He teaches trombone at the Rotterdam Conservatory and is guestteacher at the Musikhochschule Luzern .

In 2004 he was awarded the Netherlands Music Prize, the highest distinction in the field of music from the Dutch Ministry of Culture. This prize was presented by the state secretary of culture during a concert given by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, with which he was performing as the soloist in the trombone concerto 'SOLO' by Luciano Berio.

In 2006 Jörgen received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. This prestigous international award is yearly presented by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust to a selection of the most promising and talented young soloists and ensembles. Jörgen also won other prizes, including first prizes at two international trombone competitions, in Toulon (France) in 2001 and in Guebwiller (France) 1999.

In the meantime Jörgen has become a frequently requested soloist and teacher both at home and abroad. In most European countries, as well as the United States, Japan and Australia, he has given recitals and master classes (including conservatories of Paris, Toronto, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo and the Juilliard school in New York) and he has appeared as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta. His current engagements for 2006 include soloperformances in Spain, South Korea, US, Singapore, Germany, Sweden, Greece, China and Japan. Different composers have written solo pieces especially for Jörgen, including Jan van Vlijmen, Martijn Padding, Florian Maier and Jacob ter Veldhuis.

For the future several new pieces are expected, including a trombone concerto by Theo Verbey, commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (to be performed in 2007/2008 by Jörgen and the same orchestra). Besides this Jörgen is an active chamber musician in ensembles like the Ebony Band, the New Trombone Collective and the Brass of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO brass). He was one of the founders of the New Trombone Collective and the RCO Brass and is artistic leader of both of them.