Born: Emmendingen (near Freiburg), Germany

The German conductor and organist, Rolf Schweizer, studied among others church music in Heidelberg with Meinrad Poppen, Hans Werner Zimmermann and Wolfgang Dallmann.

For ten years he operated as Kantor and organist at the Johanniskirche in Mannheim. In 1966 he moved to Pforzheim and served at the Evangelische Stadtkirche (Evangelist Town Church). Beside the Motettenchor Pforzheim he also took care there for the Jugenkantorei, Jugenkantorei, the Bachorchester, the Bläserensemble und whole line of the Evangelische Singschule (Evangeslist Singing School). At the same time Rolf Schweizer - since 1969 with the title director of church music - is Bezirk’s Kantor and since 1976 also State Kantor for the Bezirk Mittelbaden. From the beginning of his Pforzheim activity he directs also the Oratorio choir.

In 1984 he was appointed as professor by the Prime Minister of the Baden-Württemberg state. He received two important honour assignments from the city of Pforzheim: in 1991 he received the Honour Ring, and in 1998 the local council gave him the Ehrenbürgerwürde.

Source: Liner notes to the CD ’J.S. Bach: Festliche Kantatenchöre zum Kirchenjahr’ (Amati, 1999)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (March 2002)

Rolf Schweizer: Short Biography | Motettenchor Pforzheim | Recordings

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