My name is Hedwig Gross. I was born in 1961 in the Oldenburg Münsterland region and discovered my love for music in 1972: I first learned to read music and play the recorder in music class at school. This sparked my interest, and I quickly switched to the accordion, played in an accordion orchestra for several years, took additional piano lessons, and then, in 1978, ventured into the “queen of instruments,” the church organ. I attended the C-level course in Vechta for two years and passed the final exam in 1981, at the same time I graduated from high school.
Over the next three decades, my hobby took a back seat, as family and career took priority.
In 2017, I decided to revive my hobby: I took organ lessons with Dr. Gabriel Isenberg in Damme. I am deeply grateful to him for his patience with me, but above all for his broad range of expertise. This made it possible for me to develop musically in very different directions: as a part-time organist in church services of both denominations, as a composer of “New Sacred Songs,” and as the creator of “Unerhört!” (an annual concert in the Vechta Monastery Church featuring music from the genres of rock, pop, musicals, and film; the main instrument here is the church organ, on which well-known “catchy tunes” are presented together with solo instruments or singers).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began setting lyrics to music. Eugen Eckert provided me with a text: “When Fears Overcome Me”; published in the songbook “Wurzeln können” (Dehm-Verlag, 2023).
My setting “Ich lausche auf Töne in der Schöpfung” (Lyrics: Susanne Brandt) was published in 2024 in the songbook “Öffnet eure Herzen” (Strube-Verlag).
In January 2024, I participated in the song workshop for the 2025 Church Congress. This led to the creation of the song “Mit Mut hinein in diesen Tag” . Jan von Lingen wrote the text and arranged a professional musical setting for this uplifting song (available on YouTube).
I now compose light organ pieces that are deliberately kept simple so as not to discourage beginners on the organ. Since February 2026, I have been publishing my compositions with Musicalion.