Franz Surges

Franz Surges was born 11.10.1958 in Remagen/Rhine, Germany. He studied at the episcopial school for church music, Aachen and conservatoire Cologne, Department Aachen.

Education

He took his following exams:

• Cantor-exam (called A-exam)
• Diploma in music-pedagogics (Organ)
• Diploma of the artistical final-exam, main subject organ
• Diploma in music-pedagogics (note-setting)

He took further lessons in composition by Tilo Medek

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

Position and awards

Since 1981 Franz Surges acts as 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 prices and award, among others:

• First Prize composition contest "in furtherance of contemporaneous music-maintenance in religious services", Schwäbisch Gmuend (1991) within the frame of the festival "European Church Music"
• First Prize composition contest "Mayrhofer-Prize", Passau, Germany, 2002
• First Prize composition contest country town of Siegburg, 2006

Oeuvre

Franz Surges composes opera for different choirs (male chorus, female chorus mixed-gender chorus), solo and instrumentation (Strings, woodwind player, brass, piano and organ)

Literature

(1) http://www.duesseldorf.de/stadtbuechereien/standpunkte/komponisten/biosurges.shtml Anthology of information about Franz Surges; in German