The Tölz Boys' Choir is mourning its founder: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden died on Sunday in Benediktbeuern, Upper Bavaria, after a long illness, the choir announced. The conductor and educator was 88 years old.

Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden (1937-2026)

Schmidt-Gaden, born in 1937 in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Bohemia, founded the boys' choir in 1956 from a scout group in Bad Tölz. When the scout group disbanded, the then 18-year-old high school student took over the direction of the singing group, thus laying the foundation for the choir that is now renowned worldwide.

For over 60 years, Schmidt-Gaden directed the boys' choir in concerts at Bach festivals, the Berlin Festival, the Israel Festival, the Salzburg Festival, La Scala in Milan, the Louvre in Paris, and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The choir sang for popes, royalty, and heads of state, as well as at the opening ceremony of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Munich.

From 1980 to 1988, Schmidt-Gaden held a professorship in choral conducting at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, and from 1984 to 1989 he was choral director at La Scala in Milan. As a vocal coach, he gave masterclasses in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, South Africa, and Japan.

For his work, Schmidt-Gaden was awarded, among other honors, the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1983) and the Bavarian Order of Merit (1994). In 2000, he received the title of Professor for life from the Austrian Federal President.

In 2016, Schmidt-Gaden handed over the artistic direction of the Tölz Boys' Choir to his student Christian Fliegner. Seventy years after its founding, the choir has around 210 members, from young singers to soloists and a men's choir.

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