*1955 in Frankfurt am Main
After working for 15 years as a master joiner, Friedemann Schmidt-Mechau studied musicology, history, and art in Oldenburg, later moving to Bremen to study composition under Jens-Peter Ostendorff and piano under Luciano Ortis. Since 1992, he has been working as a freelance music composer. His area of interest is acoustic music for voice and musical instruments, with a particular emphasis on chamber music. Although his work is mainly aimed at professional musicians, he enjoys working with and composing pieces for amateurs just as much, both as a choirmaster and a pianist.
He has won numerous grants and awards, including the composition award of the Kulturkreis im BDI (Association of Arts and Culture at the Federation of German Industries e. V.) and the Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (German Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music) in 1991, the Kunstpreis arts award of the city of Cloppenburg in 1993, various Künstlerstipendien or artists' stipends in 1994 (Federal State of Lower Saxony), 1995 (German Foreign Ministry), and 1996 (Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music), audience award for incidental music at the Lower Saxony Festival for Independent Theatre in 2000, and the Independent Theatre Prize of the Lower Saxony Lottostiftung (lottery trust) in 2002.
In 2014, Friedemann Schmidt-Mechau moved back to his home town of Frankfurt, where he has been living ever since.
Further information: http://schmidt-mechau.de