Thomas Rabenschlag

Thomas Rabenschlag (born May 21, 1951 in Heidelberg , Germany ) is a German musician, pianist , composer , arranger , singer , cabaret artist and educator.

Life and career

Thomas Rabenschlag grew up in Heidelberg and attended the humanistic Kurfürst-Friedrich-Gymnasium there. In 1959 he began classical piano training, from 1965 onwards he increasingly occupied himself with pop and jazz as well as applied music, especially in the theater sector. After graduating from high school in 1969, he first studied philosophy and musicology in Heidelberg and Tübingen, and in 1975 he began studying music (majoring in piano and composition) at the Stuttgart University of Music.

In addition, Rabenschlag was a member of various music groups as a keyboardist and composer, from 1972 to 1975 with the progressive jazz rock band Puppenhaus . He worked intensively with the German composer and multi-instrumentalist Büdi Siebert . With Siebert, Albert Mayer-Mikosch and Horst Götz, he recorded a program with the political rock group Kernbeisser with texts by Peter Paul Zahl for the Cologne Eigelstein label and played with them as well as Ringo Hirth , Martin Schrack , Bernd Konrad , Anne Haigis and Wolfgang Dauner in the group Herrgottsax (album Selbold Selergesicht's sinful saxophones , 1981).

During his student years he already worked as a theater musician in Tübingen, Stuttgart and Ulm. From 1979 to 1983 he was musical director at the Theater am Neumarkt in Zurich under the direction of Helmut Palitsch , after which he worked as a freelance theater musician in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with Andrea Breth , Karl Paryla , Gerd Heinz, Robert Hunger-Bühler and Klaus Brömmelmeier and others together, in several stage programs with the Austrian actor Wolfram Berger .

He repeatedly works as a composer and arranger for the Cologne Verdi Quartet .

Since 2002 he has been on the road with musical and cabaret solo programs.

Thomas Rabenschlag has lived in Switzerland since 1979, where he taught at the music school in the Baden region (canton Aargau) from 1988–2016.

Since 2012 choirmaster at the “Rabenkantorei” in Basel.

Since 2016 private teaching activity in Basel and Baden (AG).

Since 2019 choirmaster of the "Singerei" in Brugg.

Programs and productions

• 2002 "Everything will be different" (Thomas Rabenschlag, set to music, sings, plays Robert Gernhardt)
• 2004 "Autumn is never as beautiful as April" (solo program)
• 2006 "Oh, I shouldn't say anything more here?" (A homage to Robert Gernhardt)
• 2007 "The fire in the rock" (solo program)
• 2007 "MS Goodbye". A musical farewell journey (with Charlotte Heinimann, directed by Klaus Brömmelmeier)
• 2008 "High. Out ... "(commissioned work for the festival" Vielsaitig ", Füssen / D)
• 2009 "Summer Snow". A musical longing (with Charlotte Heinimann, directed by Klaus Brömmelmeier)
• 2011 “Zäller Wiehnacht”. A journey of remembrance for older people. Directed by Klaus Brömmelmeier / Sibylle Burkhart. ( Zurich theater )
• 2012 "Orient Express". A musical journey from Paris to Istanbul. With the Verdi Quartet and Klaus the violinist. First performance at the "Vielsaitig" festival in Füssen / D.
• 2012 “The wild Sophie”. Children's musical based on the book by Lukas Hartmann.
• 2014 "Arr ju launsam tuneit". CD and concert program with own songs to texts by Robert Gernhardt. Together with the guitarist Max Lässer.
• 2015 “Do you still need me?” Directed by Klaus Brömmelmeier / Sibylle Burkhart. (Zurich theater)
• 2015 Pro Argovia Artist 15/16, with Max Lässer.
• 2017 Musical collaboration in the anniversary musical "Schärz 777" (Scherz / Canton Aargau).
• 2018 "Best with guests". Musical and culinary production with various musical guests for the Odeon / Brugg theater.

Web links

• Literature by and about Thomas Rabenschlag in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website by Thomas Rabenschlag