About Me

About Me

 

John Van Houten Jr.

holds a  Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in tuba performance from the University of Southern California.

He has performed with a wide variety of music ensembles, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera, the Long Beach Opera, the American Winds Concert Band, the Long Beach Municipal Band and the Joffery Ballet.  His performing experience also includes phonograph recordings with such diverse artists as Lyle Lovett, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Carly Simon and Alice Cooper, in addition to television (shows such as Alias, The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Futurama,  and King of the Hill), records, jingles and a wide variety of motion pictures, such as Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond, Ted, John Carter, Cars II, Super 8, Ted, Mission Impossible 1 and 3, Crimson Tide, The Thin Red Line, Men in Black,  X-Men, Pearl Harbor, Swordfish, Legally Blonde, Planet of the Apes, Piglet’s Big Movie, The Hulk, Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 and 3, Spiderman 2 and 3, The Incredibles, Ratatouille (Oscar Nominated for Best Film Score),  Speed Racer, Star Trek, ‘UP’ (Oscar Winner for Best Film Score as well as Grammy Winner for Best Song), Land of the Lost and You Again, Emmy Winning PSYCH The Musical, Star Trek- Into Darkness, Mission Impossible !V- Ghost Protocol, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Inside Out

Mr. Van Houten has also served as music contractor/orchestra manager on numerous films, commercials, video games and live orchestral productions.  He also has taught at several universities and colleges in the Southern California area, including Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach, Azusa Pacific University, and Concordia University.

Occupation:

Musician/Contractor/Instructor

First Horn:

Miraphone 184CC5U

Instruments Frequently Used:

CC Tuba: Vintage Miraphone 188-5v Sun Valley era
CC Tuba: Kanstul Orchestral Grand
BBb Kanstul Orchestral Grand
F Tuba: Kanstul Orchestral F, Miraphone, Firebird Model
CC Cimbasso: Rudy Meinl
Contrabass Trombone: Miraphone modified by Justin Jerome with a D-valve making it a double-trigger Bb independent
Bass Trombone: Dave Taylor Model

Memberships:

AFM Local 47
RMLA
ITEA
Chamber Music of America
SCSBOA

Personal Motto:

“When you get knocked down, always get back up and never back down.”