ALIDA L. MEIJERS

Alida Meijers is President and owner of JAZZDAGEN TOURS, a full-service tour company and travel office. Her company, founded in 1984, specializes in jazz tours and cruises. Nearly all her cruises are on luxury cruise lines such as REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES. Every tour or cruise involves daily performances for Jazzdagen participants of "Classic Jazz", from New Orleans to Swing and Big Band Jazz, presented by top international jazz bands and/or all-star musicians specially contracted by JAZZDAGEN TOURS for each cruise.

Alida was born in the Netherlands and came to the United States in 1968 with her husband Pieter. Initially, her stay would be for one or two years only, while Pieter completed a post-doctoral appointment at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. However, Pieter's career has kept Alida permanently in the United States. She started her own career in travel in 1973, using her extensive travel experience and her proficiency in foreign languages. She worked as a travel consultant in various offices and obtained her CTC (Certified Travel Consultant) diploma in 1984.

Music has always been part of her life. At the age of 9 she learned to play guitar and accompany herself singing pop songs. She also performed as a singer in several musicals. After she met Pieter she became more interested in jazz, took guitar lessons again and learned how to play "rhythm guitar". The (tenor) banjo followed and for the next 25 years she played, sang and recorded with various bands (e.g. Isotope Stompers, Nightblooming Jazzmen). Around 1997 she announced her retirement as a performing musician so that she could devote more time to the growing business of JAZZDAGEN TOURS.

Alida escorts all of her jazz cruises and tours. She enjoys listening to the music and likes to be involved. She loves to be with people and always has a personal word for each Jazzdagen client. However, her cruises are not all fun-and-games for her. She is a perfectionist who likes everything to be just right. She is continuously checking details, involved in solving problems and with planning ahead for the next day.

Alida is excited about her collaboration with ARBORS RECORDS again, which has added a new dimension to the jazz programs.