Prof. Jürgen Ganzer

Prof. Jürgen Ganzer began taking accordion lessons in 1960 at the Potsdam music school and attended the specialist music school in Berlin from 1965-69. He continued his accordion studies with Hans and Christine Boll and studied composition with Prof. Dr. Wolfram Heicking at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin from 1969-75. After graduation, Jürgen Ganzer worked as a freelance composer, arranger, accompanist, teacher , soloist and ensemble performer. He worked in the genres of political song, folk and chanson as well as in the Volksbühne, the Berliner Ensemble and the Friedrichstadtpalast. In addition to teaching, he took part in radio, film and TV recordings and worked as a session musician in various genres. He wrote compositions and arrangements , especially chamber, stage and film music as well as didactic and electronic music. As a chamber music performer, Ganzer appeared mainly in an accordion duo and gave concerts with Latin-American and jazz musicians. He took part in interpretation competitions, where he won prizes such as the first prize in the GDR Accordion Soloists' Competition in 1972, the chamber music prize in the composition competition sponsored by the radio channel Voice of the GDR, and in 1985 and 1986 he won the duo prize in the Klingenthal International Accordion Competition. From 1983-90 Jürgen Ganzer was a member of the competition committee of the Central Accordion Board of the GDR. Since the dissolution of this organisation, he has taken part in the preparation and organisation of international accordion competitions. Since 1994 he has served as chairman of the International Jury and in 1996 he was jury chairman at the 'Coupe Mondiale des C.I.A. - Unesco Accordion Competition'. Jürgen Ganzer has taught music theory at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin since 1978, and in 1988 he became lecturer in composition and music theory. In 1993 he became Professor of Harmony and Orchestration.