Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden

Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden (19 June 1937 – 19 April 2026) was a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic teacher. He founded and conducted the Tölzer Knabenchor in 1956, leading the boys' choir to international fame. They participated in Nikolaus Harnoncourt's pioneering recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's choral music in historically informed performances. He retired from the position in 2016.

Life and career Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden and Claudio Abbado. He toured with the boys to the US, China and Japan, among others.

Schmidt-Gaden's recordings with the Tölzer Knabenchor include Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Collegium Aureum, Kleine Geistliche Konzerte by Heinrich Schütz, and sacred choral music by Orlando di Lasso. A reviewer of Gramophone noted about their 1971 recording of the Christmas Oratorio that it "bursts forth with spirited expectation as the Nativity is vigorously explored". 1991: 1994: Bayerischer Verdienstorden 2009: Bayerische Verfassungsmedaille in silver

Publications Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden: Wege der Stimmbildung. , Munich 1992,