Wollmann, Thorsten

Dr. Thorsten Wollmann was born on February 10th, 1966, in Biberach-Laupheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He graduated with a Master Degree (Magna Cum Laude) from the Musikhochschule Köln (The Cologne School of Music), majoring in composition and jazz trumpet, minoring in piano. His final exam concert in 1994 was recorded and broadcasted by the West German Radio (WDR).

As a soloist he was a member of the Youth Jazz Orchestra Baden-Württemberg, the National Jazz Orchestra, the National Jazz Septet, the German-Scandinavian-Project and the Südpoolensemble. On tour concerts he performed in West Africa (Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic), Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines), India, Mexico, Portugal and Spain. His own band, the Thorsten Wollmann Quintet, performed for the South German Radio (SDR), the Southwest German Radio (SWF) and with the Cologne Radio Orchestra for the WDR.

As a composer he wrote commission works for the Cologne Radio Orchestra, the Thorsten Wollmann Orchestra, the Jazz Orchestras of the WDR, SDR, HR (Hessian Radio), NDR (North German Radio), the soloists Bobby Shew (USA), Tom Harell (USA) and John Taylor (UK), the National Jazz Orchestra, the Südpoolensemble, the German Jazz Orchestra, the German Music Festival 1995 (his composition „From a Legend“ was selected as the compulsory piece for the national band competition), the Ensemble Pyramide (Switzerland), Duo Concertante (Cologne), Due Boemi Di Praga (Czech) and the Bamberg Symphony Bigband. Some of his symphonic works were performed and recorded by the Auckland Philharmonia and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Thorsten Wollmann conducted the Sofia Radio Orchestra, Bulgaria, the Südpoolensemble, the WDR-Big Band, the NDR-Big Band, the HR-Big Band, the German Jazz Orchestra, the National Jazz Orchestra, the World Youth Wind Orchestra, the Chiang Mai Big Band and the Thorsten Wollmann Orchestra.

From numerous CD-publications containing his own compositions there are five under his own name: „Cycles“ (Duo with Wolf Kerschek), „The Characteristics of Water“ (composer portrait), „Lost in Clubs“ (Jazz Sextet),  „Africa Suite“ (Thorsten Wollmann Jazz Orchestra) and "Colours of Siam" (WDR-Big Band, available from www.inandout-records.com).

He also composes for film (in 1996 he was invited as the only European composer to participate in the ASCAP-Film-Composer-Workshop in Hollywood), and has written jazz compositions, tangos, children’s songs, music for band, chamber music and symphonic music. Examples of his works are the „Africa Suite“ for Big Band, „Siddhartha“ for Jazz Orchestra, a „Concerto for Symphonic Band“ (based on paintings of Paul Klee), „The Characteristics of Water“ for the Ensemble Pyramide, a „Piano Concerto“, "The Thai Piano Book",  „The Elements“ for Orchestra, and the „Symphony to the End of the 20th Century“.

Thorsten Wollmann was awarded the Jazz Prize of the State Baden-Württemberg in 1992.

Since 1996 the composer has lived in Thailand, together with his wife Pimonmas (who has a PH.D. in German Literature) and their daughter Alissa Janine. He is working as a lecturer for the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) in the Music Department of Payap University, Chiang Mai.

Thorsten Wollmann has completed his doctorate in classical composition at the University of Auckland in New Zealand in 2005. The composer was awarded with the Philip Neill Memorial Prize of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand in August 2002.

You will find more information about the composer at thorstenwollmann.com.