Impulse
Perform
Leading choirs, exploring scores and finding a shared expression.
CONDUCTOR · COMPOSER · EDUCATOR
Kassel · An open ear. A voice of my own.
Music
brings
people
together.
I nurture sound, ideas and people: through choral music, the piano, teaching and my own compositions.
Explore ↓My approach
Music begins
when people listen to each other.
For me, artistic ambition and genuine accessibility belong together. On stage, in rehearsal or in a lesson, my work is about growth, expression and the moment when individual voices become a shared sound.
My musical world
Three strands.
One musical life.
What I discover in rehearsal shapes my compositions. What I learn through composing, in turn, changes the way I teach.
Transformation
Create
Composing and arranging: giving an initial idea shape, colour and direction.
Resonance
Teach
Encouraging people to grow as musicians and discover their own voice.
In progress · A new composition
First Vision
of Light
A new composition for women’s choir and orchestra: William Blake’s mystical vision of light in To Thomas Butts enters into dialogue with the liturgical text of O Nata Lux. Eight stages trace a journey from the first glimmer of light to a quiet, almost childlike trust.
Explore the work ↓The video could not start. Open video directly
The vision behind the music
When light
becomes sound.
A light that does more than shine from outside. A light that transforms perception, until humanity, nature and sound can be heard as parts of one living creation.
The liturgical frame
O Nata Lux
The hymn invokes divine light taking human form. In the composition it returns as both invocation and threshold: a still point to which the vision repeatedly turns.
Light
The inner vision
William Blake
Selected lines from To Thomas Butts trace an inward journey. Light becomes visible in creation, expands our vision and finally takes shape as “The One Man”.
Eight stages · one unfolding journey
IAwakening
of light
of light
IILight in
Creation
Creation
IIICreation
becomes one
becomes one
IVImmersion in
divine light
divine light
VThe vision
expands
expands
VIThe
One Man
One Man
VIITransformation
and purification
and purification
VIIIRest
in light
in light
Inside the work
Why I am writing this piece
I experience nature as a living organism imbued with spirit. In it, I discover God’s creation and sense a divine presence.
During dark periods of my life, after profound personal hardships, music and nature have shown me a path back towards the light. That experience lies at the heart of First Vision of Light. In William Blake’s lines I recognise a similar sense of wonder: creation shines, and the individual becomes part of a greater whole. Through a dialogue with O Nata Lux, I want to explore that experience in music.
The work complements the Choryfeen’s current concert programme. I love writing for women’s choir, and I have the familiar voices and expressive possibilities of my ensemble in mind as I compose. The musical language is less experimental than in some of my earlier projects; I deliberately avoid large-scale tone clusters. The piece is intended to offer professional choirs scope for artistic interpretation while remaining manageable for ambitious amateur choirs such as my Choryfeen. Composing for them means sharing something personal with the people I have been making music with for many years.
Watch the openingOpening · 30 seconds
How light becomes sound
The string parts move across the image in time with the music, as light slowly enters a darkened room.
Watch excerptWilliam Blake · 28 seconds
I remain’d
A quiet passage from Blake’s vision of light: after the radiance, the music becomes intimate and almost childlike.
The music is a digital rendering of the work in progress. The accompanying imagery is AI-generated.
Listen with the score
A glimpse of the score
From silence grows light.
Score excerpt with a 44-second audio sketch · Swipe horizontally on a phone
The ending settles into trust. The great radiance becomes quiet, intimate and almost childlike. O Nata Lux and Blake leave room for each other’s mysteries, opening a shared space.
Coming up
Concerts
Upcoming concerts with my two school choirs.
27 Nov2026 · 6 pm
Pre-Christmas concert of the Bürger und Polizei association
Skylights & Skylights Juniors, the Kassel Police Choir and the State Police Orchestra
15 Dec2026 · 7 pm
School Christmas concert
Skylights & Skylights Juniors · Conductor: Mirko Moeller
Photo: Carolin LudwigChoral conducting & projects
Sound needs
direction and room to grow.
For many years I have developed programmes with choirs that combine musical ambition with a direct emotional impact. My focus includes contemporary choral music, rarely heard works and distinctive instrumental and vocal combinations.
In 2006 I founded the Kassel women’s choir Choryfeen. Today, around 45 singers, large-scale choral and orchestral projects and German premieres define our work together.
At Engelsburg Gymnasium I am responsible for the school’s choral programme, leading Skylights Juniors for younger pupils and the senior choir Skylights. I also work with project choirs and support ensembles during intensive rehearsal periods. I would consider taking on another choir where the musical vision and the working relationship are a good fit.
Teaching
Music comes alive
when it becomes personal.
Bring your curiosity and your goals. Together, we will find the next musical step that makes sense for you.
Piano
For beginners, returning players and advanced pianists, with a focus on technique, expression and your own repertoire.
Songwriting
From the first idea to a finished song: melody, harmony, structure and lyrics, developed through an individual creative process.
Audition preparation
Focused preparation for music college entrance auditions: performance, aural skills, music theory and artistic interpretation.
Choral conducting
Conducting technique, rehearsal methods, repertoire and how a group becomes an ensemble.
Where might your next step lead?
Enquire about lessons
About me
On stage, in the classroom and exploring new ideas.
I was born in Fulda in 1977 and studied music and English in Kassel to qualify as a secondary school teacher. I also took private singing lessons and trained in choral conducting at the Bundesakademie Wolfenbüttel.
Today I teach English and music at Engelsburg Gymnasium in Kassel, conduct school choirs and the Choryfeen, and compose and arrange. I have also been a member of the a cappella ensemble Echte Kerle since my student years. Together with Dr Valerie Schnitzer, I co-authored two practical books on teaching through classroom singing, published by Schott Music.
Read the full biography (German) ↗Kassel & FuldaPlaces I call home
Choir & OrchestraMusical worlds
MusicPerform · Create · Teach
From the archiveEchte Kerle
Contact