David Timm (born 24 April 1969) is a German pianist, organist,

choral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician. Since February 2005 he has been (University Music Director) of the

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

, and thus also director of the Leipziger Universitätschor, succeeding

Wolfgang Unger Wolfgang Unger (31 December 1948 – 19 April 2004) was a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic in Halle and Leipzig. He founded several choirs and focused on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. Li ...

Biography

Born in Waren, Timm was educated at the St. Thomas School, Leipzig. He was a member and later first prefect of the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding sch ...

. He studied

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The on ...

at the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

from 1989 to 1995 with Hannes Kästner, organ with Arvid Gast, improvisation with Volker Bräutigam, and completed his studies with the Church music in Germany A-Exam. He continued studies of piano with Markus Tomas and graduated with distinction in 1999. In 1996/97 he studied with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the Salzburg

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

. From 1998 to 2002, he taught choral conducting at the Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Halle, and from 1998 liturgical organ playing at the Leipzig Musikhochschule. From 2002, he also taught artistic organ playing there, and in 2017 he was appointed honorary professor. Since 1991, Timm has performed together with the saxophonist Reiko Brockelt as ''JazzDuo Timm/Brockelt'' at national and international classical and jazz festivals. Together with the saxophonist Frank Nowicky he founded the ''LeipzigBigband'' in 1999 and was musical director of the ''Leipziger Vocalensemble'' from 1999 to 2006. In 1997, he was awarded the first Prize of the international competition of organ improvisation in

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district and ...

. He composed ''Jazzmesse'' (or ''Jazz-Messe''), a setting of the

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

with

elements, which he recorded, together with Max Reger's '' Der 100. Psalm'', with soloists, the Thomanerchor, the Leipziger Universitätschor and the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

. Timm is co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Richard-Wagner-Gesellschaft Leipzig 2013 association, now called Leipziger Romantik. He is honorary member of the Richard Wagner Verband in Leipzig. In 2008 he was awarded the Mozart Prize of the Sächsischen Mozart-Gesellschaft.

References

External links

*
David Timm (Conductor, Organ, Piano)
Bach Cantatas Website
JazzDuo Timm/Brockelt

David Timm: Jazzmesse
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Timm, David 1969 births Living people People from Waren (Müritz) German classical pianists Male classical pianists German classical organists German choral conductors Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century organists 21st-century male musicians