News
I am delighted about the premiere of my choral arrangement of "13 Months" by Erich Kästner in the setting by Hartwig Riedl as an anniversary concert of the collegium vocale Schwäbisch Gmünd on October 3, 2024 in the Prediger cultural center in Schwäbisch Gmünd.
New release: I'm happy to announce the publication of Jon Laukvik's Pieces for Salon Orchestra in the original version and also in my arrangement for piano quintet. Now available at the Edition Svitzer.
I'm very glad to present my latest releases currently published by Edition Svitzer in Copenhagen: The first edition of my piano sonata Pentagramme , my Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra Impressionen and my homage to Beethoven Beethomorphose.
New works on my website: the easy and simple Mass setting Missa simplex as well as secular choral works: compositions and arrangements based on texts by Wilhelm Busch, Erich Kästner and others.
Latest edition of the edition riedl : Erich Kästner's "Noise In The Mirror" for Mezzosoprano & Piano.
Thomas M. J. Schäfer
composer & conductor
A warm welcome to my website! Here you can gain insight into my work as a composer as well as a conductor. Together with my ensembles I cover a wide stylistic range of music – music of all epochs performed with different musical groups. Still, despite the almost infinite number of available works, sometimes there is the need and desire to create a new piece of music –the perfect music for a special occasion or a particular ensemble.
So, let me invite you to search through my compositions and to discover my music! At different pages you can find my works for choir, orchestra and also chamber music – within that last category you can also have a look at my works for solo instruments. Finally, in a fourth category my New Spiritual Songs are presented.
For each composition a free sample score is available and for most works you can also find an audio file providing a first audio impression. Besides original compositions, you can also rummage through arrangements for various musical ensembles. If you felt like performing some of my music, I’d be happy about you getting in touch with me!
As a composer I use all styles and forms of the last millennium, thus trying to create a new musical language. To me, composing is both improvisation and construction, cognitively playing with different possibilities as well as impulsiveness and intuition.
Would you like to have a composition written for you or your ensemble? I’d like to get into conversation with you and I’ll compose an individually tailored work! An anniversary of you choir or orchestra or any other special occasion might be crowned with the premiere of the commissioned work.
Last but not least, I would like to illustrate my work as a conductor by presenting my ensembles. So, please join us at any of the upcoming projects and concerts, either by listening or by taking part as a musician!
On my homepage I also present the edition riedl , in which you will find the works of the Hamburg composer Hartwig Riedl, whose style is a modern interpretation of classical-romantic tonal language. There is already a lot to discover, the edition will be further expanded.
I hope you’ll enjoy discovering the music...
Thomas M. J. Schäfer
Church services and concerts online
Concert for Organ and String Orchestra with works by Francis Poulenc, Thomas M. J. Schäfer and Jon Laukvik - Live stream recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37mrd-52rbc&t=0s
Easter Vigil 2021 as recording: https://youtu.be/xVVQ_dLCgmw
Family service with my Easter song "Brannte uns nicht das Herz" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ6VqNbkYr4
Welfare and Social Work church service "Sehnsucht nach Leben" including my song with this title, sung at [1:02:40] by Annika Schweizer and Carsten Beneke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slK_VqjiBgc
Services of the of the years 2020 and 2021 you can find here.