Franz Surges (11 October 1958 – 20 September 2015) was a German composer and musician.[1]

Education

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Surges was born in Remagen, Germany. He studied at the Episcopal School for Church Music, Aachen, and at the Cologne Conservatoire, Department Aachen. He took the following exams:

  • Cantor-exam (called A-exam)
  • Diploma in Music Pedagogy (Organ)
  • Diploma of the Artistic final-exam, main subject organ
  • Diploma in Music Pedagogy (note-setting)

He took further lessons in composition with Tilo Medek.

He completed international masterclasses resp. music academies, e.g. by Jean Guillou, Piet Kee, Guy Bovet, Harald Vogel, Monserrat Torrent.

Position and awards

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From 1981 Franz Surges was a church musician at St. Antony, Eschweiler-Roehe (since 2006 also St. Michael, Eschweiler), composer, choir director and music teacher, among others, for church-musical (so-called C-exams).

Franz Surges obtained a number of prizes and awards, including:

  • First prize composition contest "in Furtherance of Contemporaneous Music Maintenance in Religious Services", Schwäbisch Gmuend (1991) within the framework of the festival "European Church Music"
  • First Prize composition contest "Mayrhofer-Prize", Passau, Germany, 2002
  • First Prize composition contest in the town of Siegburg, 2006

Oeuvre

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Surges composed works in various genres: choral (male chorus, female chorus, mixed chorus), orchestral, chamber (strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, organ), instrumental and vocal.

Literature

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References

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  1. ^ "Große Trauer: Komponist Franz Surges stirbt im Alter von 57 Jahren" (in German). Aachener Zeitung. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
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