New: Composer portraits at akustika Nuremberg

Thomas Asanger, Austria

Thomas Asanger was born in 1988 and now lives with his family in Upper Austria. He studied bassoon, music education, choral conducting, singing, wind orchestra conducting and German language and literature in Vienna and Linz. While still a student, he worked as an assistant at the Institute for Musicology and Interpretation Research at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (2014-2018), later also at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, at the Linz Music High School (2018-2019) and at the Institute for Music Education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (2019-2023). He has been a teacher of ensemble conducting for wind orchestra at the Upper Austrian State Music School Association since 2015 and director of the Garsten State Music School since 2023.

He has been active as a composer since the age of 17. At the age of 18, his first compositions were published by Tierolff (Holland) and Rundel (Germany). Leading wind orchestras such as The Washington Winds (USA), the Army Music Corps Ulm (Germany), The Royal Band of the Belgian Airforce, the Music Corps of the German Armed Forces (Germany) and the Music Corps of the Japanese Army have recorded works by him on CD. 26 of his 41 compositions for wind orchestra have been nominated as compulsory pieces for national and international orchestral competitions.

Since 2019, Thomas Asanger has been Deputy State Bandmaster of the Upper Austrian Wind Music Association and also regularly acts as a juror at various competitions. His greatest successes as a conductor include winning the Categoria Superiore 2024 at the Flicorno d'Oro international orchestral competition in Riva del Garda (Italy) with the Perg Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Nigel Clarke, Great Britain

Nigel Clarke (born 1960) is a British composer who studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music and was honoured with the Academy's highest award, the Queen's Commendation for Excellence.

The British composer Nigel Clarke grew up in the coastal town of Margate in the United Kingdom. Although he had no musical background, he developed a lifelong love of music at a young age when he learnt to play a brass instrument at school. At the age of 16 he joined the Royal Marines as a junior military bandmaster and went on to serve in the Band of the Royal Army Medical Corps and eventually the Band of the Irish Guards. His desire to write music was encouraged at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall. He went on to study composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Paul Patterson. 

In 1997, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom (William J. Crowe, Jr.) invited Clarke to participate in the US Embassy's premier exchange programme, the United States International Visitor Leadership Program, and as a graduate of this programme he is a member of the John Adams Society.

During his career Clarke has been a lecturer in composition and contemporary music at the Royal Academy of Music and Head of Composition at the London College of Music & Media. His numerous national and international residencies and affiliations include positions with the Young Concert Artist Trust, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Black Dyke Band, Brassband Buizingen, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Middle Tennessee State University and Brussels Muzieque. Clarke's longest musical collaboration is with the violinist Peter Sheppard-Skærved. 

Jacob de Haan, Netherlands

Jacob de Haan was born on 28 March 1959 in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. He studied music at the Academy of Music in Leeuwarden, majoring in organ and school music.

Jacob de Haan works mainly as a composer of symphonic wind music and choral music. He often works as a guest conductor all over the world to perform his own works and as a jury member at international music competitions.

Jacob de Haan's music is characterised by its emotionally driven power, which appeals to many musicians and listeners.

Jacob de Haan has received several awards, including the BUMA Classical Music Award for his complete works and the BUMA Wind Music Award for his national and international achievements in the field of symphonic wind music.

Hubert Hoche, Germany

Hubert Hoche was born in 1966 in Germany.

After an apprenticeship as carpenter, he studied composition and conducting at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar, followed by postgraduate studies in composition. Further studies with Prof. Michel Philippot (Paris), Bernhard Haitink (Luzern) and Jan Cober (Leipzig).

Participant of the Young Composers Competition in Schloß Weikersheim; winner of the competition „Hochschulforum junger Komponisten“ with his composition „O quae mutatio rerum!?“ which was broadcasted by the WDR; scholarship of the Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur Thüringen; winner of the Young Composers Competition in Gera; 1. prize with „Nebelbilder“ for concert band by the Association of German Brass Band Associations (Verband Deutscher Blasmusikverbände); winner of the Young Composers Competition in Gotha with his composition „distortions of a picture“ for orchestra; 1. prize for his composition „From Heaven High“ on the occasion of the composition competition for the 5th German Music Festival 2013 in Chemnitz, awarded by the BDMV and the GEMA Foundation,

Hubert Hoche received several scholarships within the framework of Neustart Kultur 2020 - 2022.

2017 first performance of MYSTIKA for concert band, dancer and visual artist (Stadttheater Fürth-Germany)

Cooperation with the Weimarer Staatskapelle, Jenaer Philharmonie, Thüringenphilharmonie Gotha-Suhl, Bayerisches Kammerorchester, Polizeiorchester Bayern, Landesblasorchester Hessen, L’Art pour L’Art ensemble, Oh-Ton ensemble Oldenburg, rarescale-London, Stefan Barcsay, Martina Beck, Mathias von Brenndorff, Diana Drechsler, Carin Levine, Naoko Kikuchi, Marta Klimasara, Egidius Streiff, Oliver Woog, ART!stik LABOR, Johann Mösenbichler, Ernst Oestreicher, Oliver Nickel, Miguel Etchegonzalay ...

Conducter of concert bands and choirs; co-founder of the festival for contemporary music „Weimarer Frühjahrstage“; founder of the „flammabis – contemporary music e.V.“ and its president 1999 - 2014; since 2005 vice-president of the Tonkünstlerverband Würzburg; since 2023 vice-president of the WASBE – Section Germany, since 2023 vice-president of the German composer association-Thuringia

Gauthier Dupertuis, Switzerland

Gauthier Dupertuis is a young Swiss conductor and composer. Born in Valais in 1997, he began his musical career as an euphonist in his village's wind orchestra. He showed a great interest in composition and conducting at an early age.

After graduating from the Collège de l'Abbaye de Saint-Maurice (Valais), he joined the Swiss military band. His position as a sergeant enabled him to take his first steps in orchestral conducting. In 2017, Gauthier began his studies in musicology and philosophy at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and obtained his Master of Arts in 2023.

Parallel to university, Gauthier studied at the Fribourg Conservatory with Jean-Claude Kolly (CH), Stéphane Delley (CH) and Etienne Crausaz (CH). In June 2021, he received his certificate in wind music direction and was awarded the Conservatory Prize. Always keen to broaden his musical horizons, he also obtained a diploma in choral conducting in Jean-Claude Fasel's class and was awarded the Fribourg Choral Association Prize. In 2022, he successfully obtained his DAS (Diploma of Advanced Studies) in orchestral conducting at the Bern University of the Arts in the class of Florian Ziemen (DE).

He is currently studying for a master's degree in wind orchestra conducting at the Lausanne School of Music with Jean-Claude Kolly. He has also had the opportunity to perfect his skills in masterclasses with personalities such as Douglas Bostock (GB), Mark Heron (GB) and José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana (ESP).

Gauthier has conducted the brass band l'Alpée de Vaulruz since 2018 and has been conductor of the brass orchestra l'Avenir de Payerne since 2022.

He won the international composition competition La Bacchetta d'Oro with his piece Postcards from tomorrow and the European composition competition of the European Brass Band Association with his work Magdalena Bay. Most of his works are available from FC Music Publishing, produced by Franco Cesarini (CH) and distributed by Hal Leonard.

Nelson Jesus, Portugal

Although I had no musical background in my family, I started like so many others in the symphonic wind orchestras, with the saxophone and even a bass drum.

Maybe this is where my world of composition began, because my instrument - the drum - didn't give many notes and I had to look for others that harmonised with me. That's a great example of a practical study of counterpoint! I then learnt and studied saxophone with the best teachers I could find. Thank you very much!

The composing continued, I first copied scores (by hand), corrected and changed the orchestration of pieces by other composers, made arrangements and small pieces commissioned by colleagues and friends.

After years of works in the drawer and frustrated attempts to hear them in a certain quality and with the right solfeggio, the recognition of a first composition prize gave me some encouragement, motivation and responsibility to continue composing. It also allowed me to invest some money in lessons and sheet music. And yes, I am one of those damn composers who likes to be paid for their music (work).

I mainly write for wind instruments because that's where I get my commissions from and it's easier to see my pieces on stage. Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that I was already 19 years old when I heard a symphony orchestra live for the first time. There's no shame in that, it's a fact. But I don't care about labels and I write for almost everything. Even recorder concertos.

Fortunately, I don't give up and I'm lucky enough to have a life in this fantastic world of music with the right motivation and the right people.

I also love to cook (eat) and I love dogs and donkeys!

Peter Kleine Schaars, Netherlands

Peter Kleine Schaars, born in Deventer (Netherlands) in 1962, took his first musical steps at the age of ten. Due to a lack of trombonists in the region, he played in various orchestras from an early age. At the age of sixteen, he wrote his first arrangements for various ensembles in which he played. His wide-ranging interests expanded during four courses at the conservatory, where he studied classical trombone, jazz trombone, composition, arranging and conducting. From 1989 to 2002 he was trombonist, staff arranger and assistant conductor with the Royal Netherlands Navy Band. He receives numerous commissions for compositions and arrangements from orchestras and soloists and is a much sought-after guest conductor. His career as a composer began after his composition ‘Funky Fugue Meets Waddle Waltz’ won first prize in the composition competition of the Dutch Institute for Wind Music. Peter Kleine Schaars has been working for De Haske music publishers since 2002. His music is mainly published by De Haske in the series Peter's Popular Collection.

Gerald Oswald, Austria

- Studied trumpet at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. Arts in Graz for trumpet.
- Since 1997 music teacher at the Erzherzog Johann Music School in Stainz.
- 2001 - 2002 course in wind orchestra conducting with Prof. Franz Cibulka.
- From 2004 - 2011 lessons in arranging and composition for wind instruments with Thomas Doss
- 2005 - 2008 Studied wind orchestra conducting at the Conservatory Private University in Vienna.
- Workshops with Patrick Jones, Jan van der Roost, Felix Hauswirth, Jan Cober and Douglas Bostock, among others
- Adjudicator at Prima la Musica, Music in Small Groups, JBO competition, concert evaluations and since 2010 active in conductor training for the Styrian Wind Music Association
- Studied wind orchestra conducting with Thomas Doss at the Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano since 2012.

Bart Picqueur, Belgium

Bart Picqueur (*1972) studied clarinet at the conservatories in Ghent (Belgium) and Tilburg (Netherlands). He also obtained degrees in orchestral conducting, music theory and a teaching diploma.

Recently he has focussed on composing, conducting and teaching conducting. He is one of Europe's best-known conductors and composers for symphonic wind orchestras.

His compositions have been performed worldwide by international orchestras such as the Royal Band of Belgium Guides, the Osaka Municioal Band, the Saxon Wind Academy, the Royal Military Band of the Netherlands and many more.

Bart Picqueur is also principal conductor of the Koninklijke Harmonie Ste. Cecilia Zele and is regularly invited as a guest conductor and guest lecturer throughout Europe.

Marco Pütz, Luxembourg

Marco Pütz was born in Luxembourg in 1958. He studied music (saxophone, chamber music, harmony, counterpoint, composition and orchestral conducting) in Luxembourg, Brussels and Liège (Belgium). Since 1987, he has composed over 100 works, many for wind orchestra or for wind chamber music, but also, for example, two stage pieces (one for children and one for saxophone, piano, percussion and pantomime), string quartets, several works for chamber or symphony orchestra, as well as a large number of solo concertos and pedagogical pieces for instrument with piano accompaniment. 
Several of his works have already been honoured with prizes, such as his Quatuor pour Clarinettes, with which he won 1st prize at the International Clarinet Association Composition Contest (Atlanta, USA) in 1995. In 2012, Marco Pütz was a finalist in the ITEA (International Tuba and Euphonium Association) composition competition (Linz) with two works (Five open-ended pieces and Chapters of Life/Tuba Concerto). 

In June 2017, Marco Pütz received the Plaquette d'Honneur from the UGDA (Union Grand-duc Adolphe, Luxembourg) for his compositional services to wind music, both nationally and internationally. 
In October 2017, he was honoured with the coveted BUMA International Brass Award in Arnhem (NL). 

Around 85 of his works are published by: BRONSHEIM-MUSIC (www.bronsheimmusic.nl), DE HASKE/HAL LEONARD (www.dehaske.com/www.halleonard.com), EDITION TONGER (www.tonger.de), MAECENAS MUSIC ltd (www.maecenasmusic.co.uk), H. LEMOINE/M.COMBRE (www.editions-combre.com) EDITIONS SEMPRE PIÙ (www.semprepiu-editions.com) and WINDMUSIC (www.windmusic.ch). 
Since 2015, his orchestral works have been published by EDITION KUNZELMANN (www.kunzelmann.ch). The rental material of these works is distributed worldwide by ZINFONIA.com. 

Since 1995, 75 CDs/DVDs with works by Marco Pütz have been produced:
Antes/Bella Musica (D), Bronsheim (NL), De Haske (NL), Amos (CH), Mirasound (NL), Mark Records (USA), Albany Records (USA), GIA-Music (USA), Doyen Records (GB), NAXOS, etc.. 

Marco Pütz's music is performed in Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, Latvia, England, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia ...... but also regularly in Canada, USA, Russia, Australia and Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore). 

Many of his works can also be found in the programmes of renowned festivals: WMC in Kerkrade (NL, 2001/2003/2005/2009/2013/2017), Eidgenössisches Musikfest (CH, 2001), Alpine Music Festival (CH, 2000), International Clarinet Association Contest (Atlanta, 2002), Mid-Europe (AT, 2002, 2004, 2005), Musik im 20. Jahrhundert (D, 1999/2000), La route des orgues de Moselle (F, 1998), Triangle Festival (F, 2003), Festival Radenci (Slov. 2002), WASBE Conferences, (Jönköping/2003, Singapore/2005, Killarney/2007, Cincinnati/2009, Chaiyi-City/Taiwan/2011, Utrecht/NL, 2017), 1. Deutsches Bläserforum (Dortmund, 2004), RSAMD-IWF (Glasgow, 2007), Rencontres d'Ensembles de Violoncelles de Beauvais (F, 2008), Les Quatuors à St.- Roch (Paris, 2009), Festival International d'Echternach (LU, 2008), ITEC-Competition (AT, 2012), CBDNA-Conference (USA, 2013), Festival EuropArt (Brussels, 2016, 2017), etc. 

Marco Pütz has also realised many commissions, for example for the Quatuor de Luxembourg, DePaul University/Chicago, the WASBE organisation, the orchestra ‘ Les Solistes Européens, Luxembourg “, the ” Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg (OPL) ’, the Frysk Fanfare Orkest (NL), and many other wind orchestras from Holland, Germany, USA, or for soloists such as Carlo Jans, Pierre Kremer, Vincent Debès, Philippe Schartz, Timothy Northcut (USA), Don DeRoche (USA), Steven Mead (GB), Robbert Vos (NL), Philippe Schwartz, Chicago Clarinet Trio, Quintette à cuivres de Lorraine, etc. 

Marco Pütz was professor of saxophone, chamber music and orchestration at the Luxembourg Conservatoire from 1980-2018. He is a founding member of the Quatuor de Saxophones de Luxembourg (1982-2006). From 1981-2006 he also regularly played the saxophone parts in the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Otto M. Schwarz, Austria

Born in Lower Austria, Otto M. Schwarz received his first musical training at the Wimpassing Music School and later at the Academy of Music in Vienna. In 1978, he was the youngest student to be accepted into the preparatory class of Prof Franz Weiss. This was followed by further studies with Prof Josef Pomberger for trumpet and Prof Heinz Kratochwil for composition. At the age of 15, his talent for composition began to emerge alongside his studies. Otto M. Schwarz achieved his first successes in the field of pop music. Three of his early compositions were released as singles and placed in the Austro charts of the pop station Ö3.

For the title ‘Der Weg zur Freiheit’ he received the prize for the best composition at the preliminary round of the European Song Contest in 1989. This prize was not decided by the public, but was chosen by the Austrian Composers' Association from over 600 entries. Inspired by this success, he set up his own recording studio almost three years later, where he has produced thousands of titles to date.

Today, he is a composer for commercials, film scores and theme tunes for major television stations such as ARD, ZDF, ORF, RTL and many more. Thanks to his co-operation with renowned international publishers, his CDs are played and distributed in over 80 countries around the world. An estimated 2 million CDs with his compositions have been sold over the counter or found their new owners via official downloads.

Since 2001, Otto M. Schwarz has almost exclusively produced film music for international film productions. The film ‘Um Kopf und Kragen’ from the series Polizeiruf 110 was the first feature-length production with his participation and reached over 6 million viewers.

He has been working with LISA and MONA Film since autumn 2001. Productions have been made for the German television stations ARD, ZDF, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and the Italian television RAI. 

In March 2002, his film adaptation of the novel ‘The Waterfalls of Slunj’ was honoured at the Venice TV Festival.

Films with Horst Tappert (Herz ohne Krone) and Franco Nero (Die achte Todsünde, Das Todeskarussell) followed.‘Anna's Second Chance’ was honoured with the Diva Award for the most-watched German film production in 2009. (2.1.2009, ARD, 7.44 million viewers)

He later took over the film music production for well-known series such as Alpenklinik, Lilly Schönauer, Die Landärztin, SOKO Kitzbühel and Agathe kann's nichts lassen. Further collaborations in films by directors Josef Vilsmaier, Holger Barthel, Karsten Wichniarz, Peter Patzak, Michael Zens, Helmut Metzger and many others followed.

Since 1995 he has published symphonic compositions with the Dutch music publisher De Haske, the Swiss publisher Mitropa and the American publisher Hal Leonard. Works such as Nostradamus, Around the World in 80 Days, Dragon Fight, Man in the Ice, Bonaparte and many others have been successfully performed all over the world.

Under the programmatic title ‘Symphonic Dimensions’, Otto M. Schwarz delivered his first own production for large symphony orchestra in 2013. Some of his most popular compositions were rearranged for this instrumentation and have been available as a CD or download since December 2013. Further work in this direction is already underway.

Georges Sadeler, Luxembourg

Georges Sadeler (*1988) began his musical career at the age of 8 at the Luxembourg City Conservatory and completed his saxophone and chamber music studies in the class of Marco Pütz in 2007. In addition to his main activity in the Luxembourg Military Wind Orchestra, he is also active as a composer and arranger.

Georges Sadeler's interest in composing and arranging was awakened at an early age by his father and later by his two teachers Marco Pütz and Claude Lenners, both lecturers at the Luxembourg Conservatoire.

His first steps in arranging and commissions for various marching and wind orchestras marked the emergence of his own style, which led him to explore the wide-ranging possibilities of both contemporary and classical music. He is keen to develop new timbres and techniques for different instrumentations.

His first steps in arranging and commissions for various marching and wind orchestras marked the emergence of his own style, which led him to explore the wide-ranging possibilities of both contemporary and classical music. He is keen to develop new timbres and techniques for different instrumentations.

In 2017 he won the First Prize of the 4th International Composition Contest ‘Artistes en Herbe’ Luxembourg 2017 in the ‘Senior’ section and in 2021 the First Prize of the 6th International Composition Contest for Marches ‘Citta di Allumiere’ in the category A ‘Concertmarch’ and the First Prize of the ‘1st International Contest of Original Compositions for Youth Bands “Piccolo è bello” in the category A “Grade 0,5”. Then in 2022 he wins the First Prize in the ‘3rd Composition Competition for Youth Bands (Trento)’ in category B ‘Grade 2’ and the First Prize ‘International Contest of Composition for Band “Hymn of Valcamonica” in Breno. Later in 2023 he won first prize in the ‘5th International Competition for Band Composition Angelo Inglese’ in category B (symphonic march). Since then, his works have been performed throughout Europe and are published by Symphonic Dimensions Publishing and Scomegna Music, among others.

Dominik Wagner, Germany

The composer Dominik Wagner (born 1986), who comes from Laufenburg-Luttingen, studied jazz trumpet, composition and wind band conducting at the Stuttgart University of Music. As a conductor and composer, he is mainly active in the wind band world and his pieces are performed worldwide.

Among others, he writes for the formation ‘Blechsach’ (winner of the SWR4 Blechduell) and has already worked as a guest conductor with world premieres with the Stuttgart District Association Orchestra, the BVBW Youth Music Camp, the Brass Band B10 and others.

His work ‘Early Bird Overture’ was awarded 2nd place at the ‘1st int. Composition Contest’ of the Mantzaros Philharmonic Society Corfu/Greece.

As a permanent conductor, he is in charge of the Musikverein Stetten/Filder and Musikverein Salach. He also conducts the Filder Wind Symphony project orchestra, which he founded, the Olpe District Youth Wind Orchestra and is currently guest conductor of the B10 Brass Band. As district association conductor of the KV Rems-Murr, he conducts the association orchestra there.

He teaches trumpet, conducting and composition at the music school in Schorndorf, Süßen and privately. He has been a lecturer and workshop leader on various topics, including at the International Brass Music Congress in Neu-Ulm. In 2017/18 he also attended the Intern. Further training for CISM jurors at the Bundesakademie Trossingen.  

When he needs a break from music, you'll probably find him at the Europapark stadium in Freiburg :) 

Mathias Wehr, Germany

Mathias Wehr (*1984) is a freelance conductor and composer. His compositions, including compulsory works for international wind orchestras and brass band competitions, such as the Championship Division of the German Brass Band Championship, are published by Musikverlag Frank in Switzerland and on his own music label MathiasWehrMusic and performed worldwide. He has travelled not only to Austria and Switzerland, but also to the USA and South Korea. Mathias Wehr began his music studies at the age of 16 at the Nuremberg University of Music and then added wind orchestra conducting at the University of Augsburg. At the age of 23, he won the official title of ‘European Conductor of the Year 2008’ at the 4th European Conductors Championship in Norway. Just one year later, he won the Silver Baton at the World Music Conductors Contest in Holland. Mathias Wehr has already received numerous international prizes and awards as a composer and chief conductor of various orchestras. He has also received cultural awards from the cities of Schwabach, Fürth and Forchheim for his regional musical commitment. As a juror and guest conductor, he works with wind orchestras and brass bands throughout Europe.

Andreas Ziegelbäck, Austria

Andreas Ziegelbäck was born in Wels (Upper Austria) in 1997. In his youth, he attended the instrumental branch of the Adalbert Stifter Gymnasium in Linz. After graduating from high school, he studied music education at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and history at the Paris Lodron University. Alongside his studies, he completed a four-year training programme in conducting/ensemble conducting with conductor and composer Thomas Doss, which he completed in 2018. It was also Doss who sparked his interest in composing. He went on to study composition with Johannes Maria Staud at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, which he completed in 2021. In 2020, he took part in a masterclass for brass band composition with Oliver Waespi in Bern, followed by a world premiere by the Swiss Army Brass Band. In 2022, he won the VLAMO composition competition in Belgium with his piece ‘Bleak Forest’ (Grade 2.5). The focus of his compositional work is on works for wind orchestra, brass band and fanfare band, although ensemble literature also plays an important role in Andreas Ziegelbäck's oeuvre. Since the age of 20, he has also worked as a conductor with various wind and string orchestras. Since September 2023, he has been studying wind band conducting with a focus on composition at the Bern University of the Arts with Rolf Schumacher, Phillipe Bach and Oliver Waespi. His works have been available since 2023 from Symphonic Dimensions Publishing (distributed by Hal Leonard).