Tobias Künzel (born 26 May 1964 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

) is a German pop artist and composer, best known as one of the lead singers for the group '

Die Prinzen Die Prinzen ("The Princes") is a German pop rock band, consisting of former members of the Thomanerchor, and a former member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor. Overview Early albums consist of a cappella music. The band's first name was ''Die Herz ...

Career

Künzel attended the Thomasschule zu Leipzig, that time GDR, where he became a member 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 scho ...

in 1973. He graduated in 1982 (

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

), then served in the NVA ( Nationale Volksarmee). From 1984 until 1988, he studied drums and voice at the Musikhochschule Leipzig in Germany. Back in his school days, Künzel and his friend Dirk Posner started the Band 'Puma' (a sort of abbreviation for PUnk MAchine), where he played drum set. He was also a drummer in his brothers band. During his studies the Musikhochschule Leipzig, he joined the group 'Amor & Die Kids' in 1985. Their biggest hit was Komm doch mit (zu 'nem Ritt auf dem Sofa'')'. He also founded the group ''Final Stap'', where he mainly played drums and only sang "incidentally". He began singing with the group

in 1990, though he maintains that his first love will always be drumming. He continues to sing with them today. In addition, in 1998 Künzel composed music and acted in the musical ''

Elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...

'' in Leipzig, which proved successful with more than 40 sold-out performances in Leipzig. He owns his own recording studio where he does production work for up-and-coming bands and music for television, theater and musicals. He has produced music for the German children's quiz show ', and the child's musical ''Urmel fliegt ins All'' (Urmel flies into space). Künzel has been a guest star on several television programs, and he was seen on two episodes of Lindenstraße and

Schloss Einstein ''Schloss Einstein'' is a long-running, popular German television series which is designed as a teenage soap opera. It portrays the lives of teenagers in Schloss Einstein (Castle Einstein), a fictional boarding school. The intended audience is 10 ...

. Künzel has been a guest lecturer in pop music at several universities. He occasionally teaches lessons at the

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public university, public research university in the cities of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German State o ...

, and also at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), 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 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. He is also the official ambassador of the "Fans for Kids e. V." group for children with cancer. Since 2007 he has regularly supported the Bolivian civil rights movement "ConTraDo". In 2009 he was an alternate member on the board of GEMA—

Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte The Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA; "Society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights") is a government-mandated collecting society and performance rights organization ...

(The Society for Musical Performing and Mechanical Reproduction Rights), representing the composers, lyricists and publishers rights to their musical works in Germany.

Life

Künzel currently lives in London.

References

External links

Official Die Prinzen Website (in German)Website for Final Stap
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunzel, Tobias Living people German male singers 1964 births Musicians from Leipzig