I received my first piano lesson when I was seven, which filled me with great joy.
When I was 15 I put my piano studies on hold due to conflict with my new piano teacher.
I then began taking organ lessons from our cantor—I always had a weakness for the organ. At the same time, I also joined a local youth choir, what is now the semiprofessional Bachchor Fürstenfeldbruck choir, of which I am still an active member.
Choral music has always fascinated me and I sought out certain members of the choir and began to practice intensively. We sang a wide range of songs, from gospel songs, spirituals, and madrigals to traditional hymns in the comfort of our living rooms. The greatest challenge for me was founding a men’s choir that would focus on the style of the Comedian Harmonists, for which I wrote most of the arrangements. To keep things lively, some madrigals, jazz and pop were also added. After more than 20 years we’ve decided put things on hold because our leader, a professional musician, had to move and could no longer easily attend rehearsals.
Nearly all of us have wives and jobs, which creates additional scheduling conflicts.
In spite of it all, and although I’m not a pro myself, I intend to publish all of my own arrangements here on Musicalion.com bit by bit. Otherwise, the notes would just lie around uselessly, deprived of the chance to bring some happiness or utility to a larger music-minded community.
