Peter Witte (composer)

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Peter Witte (born December 20, 1955 in Osnabrück ) is a German guitarist , singer and composer who has also emerged as a band leader in the field of jazz .

Live and act

Witte, who learned to play guitars as an autodidact , initially formed a singing duo with his sister Monika Witte. a. Interpreted songs by Brecht ; since 1974 songs from Latin America have also been part of the repertoire. He was also a founding member of the big band of the Kulturring der Jugend Osnabrück; for the formation he worked as a guitarist, arranger and composer as well as a singer. After studying graphic design , he studied classical guitar with Reinbert Evers in Münster from 1979 ; from 1991 to 1995 he completed a degree in musicology as well as composition and aural training.

Then he worked as a jazz musician, conductor and singer of big bands and choirs, for which he also arranged and composed. Among other things, he leads the 12-member jazz ensemble “Blasnost” and the big band of the University of Osnabrück. "Especially in his numerous choir compositions, jazz and classical elements are combined into a unit, his particular strength is the unusual handling of colorful harmonies." In 2007 he was the artistic director of the "Jazz Art Ensemble" of the LAG- Jazz in the Lower Saxony State Music Council.

Witte is an artistic assistant at the University of Osnabrück and was also a lecturer at the University of Bremen and taught jazz theory at the University of Osnabrück .

Prizes and awards

In 1979, Witte was the winner of the “international democratic song” competition announced by the city of Duisburg and the WDR . In 1988 he received the first prize at the “3. International AV-Tage ”in Munich for“ Neues Deutschland ”, a satirical journey through the then still existing GDR. In 1992, 1994 and 1996 he won the “Jazz Podium Lower Saxony” competition with the Ensemble Blasnost, which he directed . In 2011, his a cappella composition Ode IV based on a text by Klabund won second prize in the composition competition "Gebt uns Noten" organized by the German Choir Association , Helbling Verlag and the Berlin University of the Arts .

Compositions (selection)

  • 2018: "Tres danzas" for piano trio
  • 2018: Barbara Symphony
  • 2017: 3 pieces for symphony orchestra and big band
  • 2016: "... and be drunk with love" (Song of Solomon) for choir and guitar
  • 2016: “Concertino” for orchestra
  • 2015: “Magnificat” and “Nunc dimittis” for choir and percussion ensemble
  • 2014: “Triptych” for cello orchestra
  • 2013: “Sonatina Capricciosa” for saxophone and piano
  • 2012: "Real Emotions" for saxophone quartet
  • 2011: “Nocturnal Gigue” for string orchestra
  • 2011: “Vals Venezolano” for string quartet
  • 2010: Klabund cycle for big band and choir
  • 2010: Three madrigals for choir
  • 2005: “7 O-Antiphone” for choir
  • 2003: “La vraie chanson vivante”: cantata for soprano, saxophone, 4 cellos and choir
  • 1999: Jazz mass for choir and combo (also a cappella)

Discographic notes

  • Monika & Peter Witte War against War: Songs by Brecht, Tucholsky and Weinert (studio in the farmhouse 1977)
  • Blasnost Blasnost (Acoustic 1991)
  • Blasnost Anything blows (Acoustic 1994)
  • Corona Vocalis Jazz Fair (1999)
  • Corona Vocalis O Radix Jesse (2006)

Lexical entries

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marcel Kawentel: Double Concerto. In: NOZ.de. June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016 .
  2. ↑ University of Osnabrück, press release October 17, 2011: New and old - University of Osnabrück invites you to a concert in the palace auditorium .
  3. ↑ Peter Witte - Ode IV
  4. ↑ Sound bodies of mining. In: musikverein-glueckauf.de.
  5. ↑ Jan Kampmeier: Successful final concert of the Euregio Music Festival in Melle. In: NOZ.de. 19th June 2017 .
  6. ↑ Ralf Döring: COMPOSITION BY PETER WITTE Euregio Music Festival ends with a world premiere. In: NOZ.de. June 1, 2016, accessed June 1, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Jan Kampmeier: World premiere at the end of the festival. In: Concertino for orchestra. NOZ, June 5, 2016, accessed June 5, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Peter Witte: Nocturnal Gigue for string orchestra (video with Schöneck Ensemble, auditorium of the University of Osnabrück, October 23, 2011)
  9. ↑ University music: "La vraie chanson vivante" - University of Osnabrück invites you to a special concert in the Katharinenkirche. University of Osnabrück, accessed on May 13, 2016 .
  10. ^ Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, October 27, 2004: Honestly deserving the champagne with your own serenade .
personal data
SURNAME Witte, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German guitarist, singer, composer and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Osnabrück