Peter Michael Hamel

Peter Michael Hamel was born on 15 July 1947 in Munich (Germany). He studied musical composition, psychology and sociology in Munich and Berlin with teachers including Günter Bialas and Carl Dahlhaus. He then continued his education abroad, spending several extensive periods in Asia.

In 1970, Peter Michael Hamel founded "Between", an international group dedicated to improvisational music with whom he made 6 records and in 1978 in Munich, he founded the Freies Musikzentrum, an institute for musical education and therapy. Between 1997 and 2012, he was professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Beside these activities Peter Michael Hamel is in demand as a performing artist (piano, prepared piano, pipe organ, voice and live-electronics).

Peter Michael Hamel composed four operas, many orchestral works, violin and piano concertos, sacred works for soprano, choirs and orchestra; Shoah (a radio-composition about the Holocaust), chamber-music compositions (including four string quartets).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Ballade for marimba" (1995). The piece is in the minimal music style which is characteristic for Peter Michael Hamel. The work was later published by EPR in Berlin and recorded by percussionist Edith Salmen. My manuscript is dated "X.95" and signed later by the composer together with a dedication to Tobias Stephan in April 1999.