Composers
Cornelius Hirsch
At the founding concerts, Sinfonietta Passau performed the world premiere of the work "3 Abendländler" by composer & timpanist Cornelius Hirsch. Cornelius Hirsch was born in 1954 in Munich. He first studied music and has performed with numerous orchestras and solo ensembles in Germany and abroad. 1980-89 he was firmly committed as a solo timpanist at the Kiel Opera. There, in 1983, he began studying art history, musicology and philosophy, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in 1989. In 1990 he received the Bavarian State Prize for Composition. Hirsch's compositions were performed by renowned soloists and orchestras and recorded on several CDs and other media. His works of experimental literature, for the stage and in visual arts were published as well, like his texts about art theory.
Philipp Ortmeier
The award-winning work "Tree of Life" for soprano and orchestra (1st prize at the international competition "Orient/Occident" in Lviv, March 2023) by Passau composer Philipp Ortmeier will be performed at the concerts of Sinfonietta Passau in April 2024 (german Premiere). Philipp Ortmeier began composing as a child and learned violoncello, piano and percussion. He studied musicology, art history and Italian studies in Würzburg, Vienna, Krakow and Padua. He wrote his doctorate thesis on the Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina and published scholarly articles. Other awards: 1st prize at the composition competition of the Diocese of Passau (2017) / award at the Vienna International Music Competition (2022) / composer in residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in the USA (2022). His compositions are performed worldwide and are published by Universal Edition, Schott, the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-Verband für Deutschland and edition choris mundi. Commissioned works for: the Bavarian Parliament, the Architecture Museum Frankfurt, the Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Euthanasia Mainkofen, the Passau Concert Association, the Open Air Museum Finsterau and the Logos and Ethos Foundation.
