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The German choral conductor and pianist, Martin Steidler, studying piano and choral conducting at the universities of Vienna and Regensburg.
After his studies, Martin Steidler worked as a music teacher at the Auersperg-Gymnasium Passau Freudenhain in Passau from 1996 to 2007, where he established a choral program. Alongside this, he was actively involved in regional choral work in Eastern Bavaria. In 1993, he founded a choir in Vornbach am Inn, in the Passau district, near the German-Austrian border, with a small group of friends who shared his passion for singing. Over the course of 32 years, he led his Heinrich-Schütz-Ensemble Vornbach to national and international successes. The ensemble's musical achievements have been recognized with numerous prizes and awards, including the 2008 Bavarian Culture Prize from EON Bayern AG, the Passau District Cultural Advancement Prize, and the European Concert Hall Foundation Prize, which was awarded to Martin Steidler in 2005. In 2013, the Heinrich-Schütz-Ensemble Vornbach won the Bavarian Choir Competition in the category of mixed chamber choirs (16 to 36 members). The ensemble also achieved top marks internationally at international competitions, most recently at the 2007 International Choir Competition in Spittal an der Drau (Carinthia), where it won first prize in the art song category and third prize in the folk song category. Concert tours took Steidler and the Heinrich-Schütz-Ensemble Vornbach to Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, the Baltic States, Finland, and Russia. He built a community of over 100 singers who travel from as far away as Munich, Ingolstadt, Kassel, and Prague for rehearsals and concerts, and significantly shaped the concert scene in Eastern Bavaria. In 2025, he is bidding farewell to his choir in Lower Bavaria.
In 1995, Martin Steidler founded the Dreiländerchor (Three Countries Choir) (Germany/Austria/Czech Republic) and from 2002 to 2008 he directed the choir of the Chor der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Passau. As artistic director of the Passauer Konzertwinters (Passau Concert Winter), he launched the vocal music series voc:vocal. From 2007 to 2008, he worked closely with Gustav Kuhn as choral director of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, developing an extensive choral-symphonic repertoire with professional singers from 15 nations. In addition, guest conducting engagements and his work as a lecturer and jury member took him to many other European countries and most recently to Cuba, where he rehearsed George Frideric Handel's Messiah with "Exaudi".
From 2006 to 2008, Martin Steidler was a lecturer in choral conducting at the Hochschule für Katholische Kirchenmusik und Musikpädagogik Regensburg. Since 2008, he has been the artistic director of the Audi Jugendchorakademie in Ingolstadt, a group of around 80 singers aged between 16 and 27. The choir, which works in several project phases per year, fosters the young singers through intensive individual vocal training. With this cross-border choral project, he has released two CD's on the Farao label. He prepared the choir for numerous vocal-symphonic and oratorio projects involving ensembles such as Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonieorchester, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, under the overall direction of conductors such as Kent Nagano, Jérémie Rhorer, Patrick Hahn and Ariel Zuckermann.
In October 2008, Martin Steidler was appointed Professor of Choral Conducting at Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. In this capacity, he leads the university’s renowned HFMT Madrigalchor. In addition, he has been named Director of the University's Department for Music Education in Public Schools in 2025. International concert tours, e.g., to Argentina and the USA in 2010, and joint concerts with other ambitious ensembles complement his extensive concert activity, which comprises approximately ten concerts annually. Realising and communicating masterpieces of music history and the contemporary repertoire in the highest possible quality - this guiding principle shapes his work as a choir director, conductor and professor of choral conducting. He led the HFMT Madrigalchor to first prize at the German Choir Competition in 2014 and to victory at the »Let the Peoples Sing« competition in 2015.
Martin Steidler’s work is characterised by the highest standards of fidelity to the original. His profound engagement with historical performance practice began while studying piano and choral conducting at the universities of Vienna and Regensburg. Another focus of his repertoire is contemporary music - he has rehearsed and conducted a number of world premieres.
Choral music requires both tonal and human collaboration, which is why Martin Steidler focuses on professional voice training, precise speech and intonation work, and a clear understanding of the inner essence and emotions of the works
– as well as on building an appreciative community.
Martin Steidler’s ensembles have performed at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Carnegie Hall in New York. As a conductor, he works regularly with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Barockorchester L'arpa festante and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra. He is also a sought-after lecturer and juror at international workshops and competitions. His work is also characterised by international exchange projects and the development of new concert formats. Guest conducting engagements, as well as his work as a lecturer and jury member, have taken him to many European countries, as well as to the USA, Asia and South America. |
