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The German pianist, organist, conductor and academic teacher, Helmut Freitag, studied church music, music edcuation (state examination in history and music) and orchestral conducting (diploma with distinction) at the Universität Saarbrücken, Musikhochschule Düsseldorf and Conservatoire de musique de Genève. His teachers were André Luy, Lionel Rogg, Jean Micault, Hans Drewanz and Hartmut Schmidt.
From 1988 to 1991, Helmut Freitag directed the music school of the district of Kaiserslautern. Since 1989, he has directed the Kaiserslautern Chamber Orchestra. With this orchestra, he has performed in the USA, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Italy. On Easter Monday 1991, he became District Kantor of the Protestant deaneries of Kaiserslautern and Otterbach. In 2001, he was appointed Kirchenmusikdirektor. Also, since 1991, he has held a teaching position for vocal correpetition at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim. In 2002, he was appointed University Music Director (UMD) of the Universität Saarbrücken. In 2006, he was awarded the cultural prize of the city of Bad Kreuznach. In 2007, the Universität Saarbrücken appointed him honorary professor of musicology.
Helmut Freitag is the initiator of the carillon in the Kaiserslautern Collegiate Church, which was installed in 2009 and, with 47 bells, is one of the largest instruments of its kind in Germany. He has performed his solo organ concerts in almost all European countries.
In 2017, Helmut Freitag was awarded a Doctorate (Dr. phil.) with the dissertation Komponisten der Naheregion:Gerhard Fischer-Münster, Fridel Grenz, Magdalene Schauss-Flake, Dieter Wellmann. Studien zur regionalen Kirchenmusik unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Werke für Orgel. |
