Ludger Stühlmeyer


Ludger Stühlmeyer is a German cantor, composer, docent and musicologist.

Biography

Stühlmeyer was born to a family of cantors and made his first steps under the guidance of his father in the town church of St. Matthew in Melle. He received music lessons from the pianist, composer and direktor of music Karl Schäfer at the Osnabrück conservatory and from Karlheinz Höne at the church musician school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück. After completing his A-levels at the grammar school at Melle, he studied Christian music, Early music, and Singing at the University of the Arts Bremen, followed by studies of composition with, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Helge Jung. He attended seminars in Gregorian semiology with Luigi Agustoni, Godehard Joppich, and Johannes Berchmans Göschl, and studied musicology, philosophy, and theology at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität of Münster. He concluded his studies with a doctorate at the faculty of philosophy. Ludger Stühlmeyer received a scholarship from the Diocese of Osnabrück. His studies were also financially supported by the Friedrich-Baur-Stiftung, the Oberfrankenstiftung Bayreuth and the Wolfgang-Siegel-Stiftung.
His grandfather, a "silent hero of the resistance" against National Socialism, who was deported to the concentration camp Emslandlager in 1940 for his support of the Catholic church and those persecuted by the Third Reich, had been employed at St. Peter's at Melle-Gesmold for 47 years. In 1980 Ludger Stühlmeyer became his successor. He was appointed as custodian of music in the diocese of Münster in 1988 and has been city cantor at Hof as well as Dekanatskantor for the deanery of Hochfranken since 1994. He is also tutor at the Erzbischöfliches Kirchenmusikseminar, and works at the Amt für Kirchenmusik in the archdiocese of Bamberg. 2003 he followed the former music director of the archdiocese Bamberg as chiefeditor of the magazin church-musical informations of the archdiocese Bamberg.
Stühlmeyer is member of the International Valentin-Rathgeber-Society and the International Dieterich Buxtehude Society. He is married to theologian and musicologist Barbara Stühlmeyer and father of Lea Stühlmeyer. His brother is pastoral theologian and priest.

Musical style and influences

Stühlmeyer's instrumental and vocal music is strongly influenced by Helge Jung and Karlheinz Stockhausen. His compositional technique aims to make auditory experiences a medium of communication. Concentrating the essence into the seemingly simple, it is his goal to open up the power of meaning inherent in self-referential sounds, a meaning that comprises philosophical thought as well as spiritual experience. His liturgical music is inspired by the Catholic liturgy and the relationship between words and music and Gregorian chant, which defines and realizes composition as the sounding body of words. During conceptual conversations with bishop Friedrich Ostermann from Münster, he created the foundation for a new reception of the Evangelienkantate for children within Catholic liturgy.

Honours