Kurt Suttner (born 8 August 1936 in Regensburg) is a German music teacher and choir director. He is the founder of the Via Nova Choir, with which he was awarded at numerous international competitions.

Career

Born in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, Suttner studied music and voice at the Hochschule für Musik München. While still a student, he was a co-founder of

Konrad Ruhland Konrad Ruhland (19 February 1932 – 14 March 2010) was a German musicologist. He was born in Landau am Inn (Germany/Bavaria) He studied history, medieval Latin, theology, and liturgical history which helped him to gain extensive background k ...

's Capella antiqua. Following his training, he initially worked as a music teacher at various schools in Munich. Later he became a music teacher at the German School in the Ethiopian capital

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

and worked as a music consultant at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Madagascar. After his return to Germany he became a lecturer for choral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik München, from 1967 to 1968 and again from 1972 to 1974. In 1975 he was appointed to the Chair of Music Education at the

University of Augsburg The University of Augsburg (german: Universität Augsburg) is a university located in the Universitätsviertel section of Augsburg, Germany. It was founded in 1970 and is organized in 8 Faculties. The University of Augsburg is a relatively you ...

, which he held until 1998. He made numerous international concert tours with the chamber choir of the university. From 1989 to 1999 Suttner was also director of the Bayerische Singakademie (Bavarian Academy of Singing), devoted to training young singers.

via-nova-chor München

In 1972, he founded in Munich the via-nova-chor München, focussed on the performance of contemporary choral music. He formed the amateur choir to a professional ensemble. In close contact with composers such as

Peter Michael Hamel Peter Michael Hamel (born 15 July 1947 in Munich) is a German composer. His works have been associated with the minimalist style of composition, and in the late 1970s with the New Simplicity movement. He is the son of the film director Peter ...

, Robert Helmschrott,

Max Beckschäfer Max Beckschäfer (born 23 February 1952 in Münster) is a German organist, composer and academic. Professional career Beckschäfer took classes at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich in organ, piano, violin and choral conducting. He stud ...

Moritz Eggert Moritz Eggert (born 25 November 1965 in Heidelberg) is a German composer and pianist. Life Moritz Eggert began his studies in piano and composition in 1975 at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt (with Wolfgang Wagenhaeuser and Claus Küh ...

, Kay Westermann, Killmayer,

Harald Genzmer Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

and

Günter Bialas Günter Bialas (19 July 1907 – 8 July 1995) was a German composer. Life Bialas was born in Bielschowitz (today Bielszowice, a subdivision of Ruda Śląska) in Prussian Silesia. His father was the business manager of a German theatre, and his ...

, the choir created numerous choral works in first performances and premieres. They won awards and accolades at several international competitions, including the Kulturpreis der Bayerischen Landesstiftung (Cultural Award of the Bavarian State Foundation), the grant from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, prizes in international choral competitions in Tours, The Hague, Cork, Budapest, Tolosa, and the special prize for contemporary choral music in the Deutscher Chorwettbewerb (German Choir Competition) in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

. In early 2008, he handed over the direction of the choir to Florian Helgath.

Awards

* 1998:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 2006: Medal "München leuchtet" * 2007: Orlando-di-Lasso-Medaille of the Bayerischer Sängerbund * 2007:

Bayerischer Verdienstorden The Bavarian Order of Merit (german: Bayerischer Verdienstorden) is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria ...

External links

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Kurt Suttner
via-nova-chor.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Suttner, Kurt German musicologists German choral conductors German male conductors (music) Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1936 births Living people 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians