Prof. Gero Schmidt-Oberländer

Prof. Gero  Schmidt-Oberländer
Photo: Alexander Burzik

Professor of School Piano Techniques
Director of the Department of Music Education and Church Music
Member of the Senate
Director of the SchuMu-BigBand

Klostergebäude Am Palais

+49 3643 | 555 139

+49 3643 | 555 135

gero.schmidt-oberlaender(at)hfm-weimar.de

  • Prof. Gero Schmidt-Oberländer was born in 1963 in Bischofsgrün / Fichtelgebirge, where he gained his first musical experience in churches, in a trombone group and as an organist, he spent his school days in Bayreuth, where he received piano lessons. During his A' Levels he trained the school choir
  • His studies led him to Freiburg (musicology, school music as well as rhythmics), to Stockholm (choral conducting with Eric Ericson) and to Trossingen (jazz), during and after his studies he worked as a cantor for 7 years in Neustadt / Schwarzwald
  • After completing his student teaching in Freiburg, he began to teach there (Catholic College of Social Pedagogy Freiburg: popular music; Pedagogic College Freiburg: big band; National Academy of Music Freiburg: practical piano techniques for schools)
  • After working as a teacher for many years in Baden-Württemberg, Gero Schmidt-Oberländer became a Professor of Practical Piano Techniques in Schools / Music Didactics (emphasis jazz) at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar, he was substantially involved in the foundation of the big band in the school music department
  • Since 2000 he has been the speaker of the study group for practical piano techniques in schools in German Academies, since 2003 he has been Vice President of teaching, using this function he has initiated a change in the study system at the LISZT University to the Bachelor / Master structure as well as initiating the Children's University
  • Next to his work at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar he leads as a teacher a class at the Weimar Goethe-High School and gives national courses and workshops which already includes Enschede (NL), Lucerne and Helsinki with the main focus on jazz / rock / pop-piano, European song, improvisation, choral conducting
  • He is an author of school books and has set up different workshops e.g. accompanying volumes to practical piano techniques in schools, as a member of a national working group he helped to develop concepts for the reconditioning of music education in German schools in the sense of 'learning sequences in education'
  • He is artistically active with the jazz acapella-Ensemble 'Quartett Komplett' in South West Germany and with the directorship of the choir 'Päivi Kiiski Ensemble', specialists for contemporary music
  • From 2015 to 2019 he was President of the Thuringian state association of the Bundesverband Musikunterricht (BMU)

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