Hermann-Lietz School - Haubinda
Westville Girl's High School, Durban, South Africa
Phorms Süd
Living What I Teach - My Performance Journey
Living What I Teach
My performing career is not separate from my teaching — it defines it. Every rehearsal, concert, and stage experience informs how I prepare students for real performance situations.
I believe that music education must go beyond theory. Understanding performance means experiencing it — responding in the moment, managing pressure, and communicating with an audience through sound. These are elements that cannot be taught in isolation; they must be lived.
My work as a performer has taken me across a wide range of musical settings, from intimate ensembles to large-scale productions. Each context demands focus, adaptability, and preparation, reinforcing the realities of live performance that I bring directly into the classroom.
In my teaching, I create opportunities for students to experience music in an active and meaningful way. This includes performing regularly, working within ensembles, and developing the confidence to present their work to an audience. Students learn that performance is not only about accuracy, but about communication, presence, and intention.
Music education, for me, is about preparing students for real musical situations. It is about helping them step onto a stage with confidence, manage challenges, and perform with purpose. Technical skill is essential, but it is through performance that music becomes real.
You can explore selected performances on my Video Channel.
Classical & Church Music
My performance journey began in classical music. I started piano lessons at the age of five, and by thirteen I had become the organist at St. Martin Catholic Church in Illertissen, performing regularly for services, weddings, and funerals. This early responsibility developed both discipline and stage confidence and became a formative part of my musical foundation.
During my studies at the Mozarteum Salzburg, I attended the International Summer Academy from 1978 to 1981, working in the masterclasses of Professors Winfried Wolf and Sergio Perticaroli. These highly selective programmes provided opportunities to perform in the Wiener Saal, where I presented works by Liszt, Chopin, and Casella, including Chopin’s Etudes and Casella’s Toccata.
Alongside these performances, I also sang and accompanied choirs, and briefly worked with an African choir in Soweto during a competition — an experience that broadened my musical perspective through cross-cultural collaboration.
Although my career later expanded into jazz, pop, and musical theatre, the precision and discipline of these early years have remained my foundation. I continue to perform classical repertoire and bring its depth and rigour into my teaching and ensemble work.
Jazz & Improvisation
Jazz has always been a space for me to explore freedom, creativity, and collaboration. Growing up, I was surrounded mainly by classical music, pop, and blues, and only discovered jazz as a student in Salzburg. A friend introduced me to the Real Book and invited me to a jam session — my first glimpse into the language of jazz.
Soon after, I found myself on stage at the renowned Podium Jazz Club in Salzburg, where international musicians gathered. The saxophonist Alan Praskin called me up to play, and when I stumbled, he challenged me in front of the audience. It was a hard lesson, but it pushed me to dive deeper into chord progressions, scales, and the structure of jazz. Within months I was back on stage, more prepared, and over the years Alan and I remained in touch as friends. That early experience taught me something I also bring into the classroom: learning often comes through mistakes, and resilience is part of becoming a musician.
A common misconception is that jazz is simply about reproducing old styles. In reality, jazz means stepping on stage with musicians you may never have met before, sharing a common ground in the standard repertoire, and within the framework of chords, key, and melody, creating something entirely new in the moment. This is very different from a cover band, where the audience expects the original sound to be recreated faithfully. In jazz, creativity, dialogue, and risk are at the essence of the music.
Later, I recorded Jazz Over Christmas with Thorsten Thonhauser, Hans Baltin, and Mark Wood, blending tradition with improvisation. In South Africa, I performed with guitarist Jimmy Dludlu, drummer Vusi Khumalo, and bassist Victor Masondo, and shared stages with artists such as Johnny Fourie, Kippie Moeketsi, Bakithi Kumalo, Natalia da Rocha, and Marah Louw. Internationally, I performed in Shanghai at the House of Blues and Jazz and continued collaborations in Germany with musicians including Alan Praskin, Peter Inagawa, and Klaus Kircher.
In the classroom, students must first pass through the reproduction stage — learning pieces accurately and developing technique. Jazz then opens the door to creativity and individual expression. My role as a teacher is to provide the tools — scales, chord structures, rhythm, and listening skills — while guiding students to take risks and develop their own musical voice. Nothing replaces the discipline of practice, but it is through this process that real musicianship emerges.
Rock, Pop & Bands
Beyond classical and jazz, I have always embraced the energy of rock and pop. In South Africa I performed with the Afro Pop duo Marc & Alex, sharing the stage at Ellis Park Stadium with legends like Johnny Clegg and Brenda Fassie, and recording at the SABC studios with artists such as Natalia da Rocha and Kurt Egelhof. I also played in townships, once at a packed open-air festival in KwaZulu-Natal where the main act failed to appear — an unforgettable and intense night of music and survival. With my wife Felicity as vocalist, I formed the R&B band Connection 5, performing classics from I Will Survive to Smooth Operator. I also played keyboard in the jazz-funk group Think Pink with Salzburg saxophonist Ulrich Barth. These experiences gave me a deep respect for the power of popular music to connect with audiences across cultures and generations.
Theatre & Musicals
Theatre work has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career as a music educator. It brings together performance, collaboration, and production in a way that allows students to experience music as part of a larger artistic whole.
Working in theatre requires a different mindset from traditional classroom teaching. It involves coordinating musicians, singers, and technical elements while maintaining a clear musical direction. Students learn not only to perform their parts, but to listen, respond, and contribute to a shared outcome.
Throughout my career, I have been involved in a wide range of productions, supporting students in developing confidence on stage and understanding the demands of live performance. Rehearsals become a space where discipline, teamwork, and musical awareness are constantly developed.
In the theatre environment, mistakes are part of the process, and learning happens in real time. Students begin to understand timing, communication, and responsibility in a way that goes beyond individual performance. They experience what it means to be part of a production where every role matters.
This work continues to shape my teaching. It reinforces the importance of preparation, collaboration, and adaptability, while helping students see music not only as a subject, but as a living, shared experience.
Special Performances & Highlights
My performance work has taken me across a wide range of musical settings and international stages. As a pianist, I have worked in both classical and contemporary contexts, often adapting quickly to the demands of live performance.
In South Africa, I worked as a pianist and was at times required to perform in high-profile settings — including an appearance for Jacob Zuma — which I accepted as part of the professional reality of the job, even if not one of my more meaningful artistic associations.
In Salzburg, I was frequently called upon at short notice to accompany rehearsals, auditions, and performances, developing the ability to respond quickly, read situations, and deliver under pressure. These experiences strengthened not only my technical skills, but also my reliability and professionalism as a musician.
Across different countries and contexts, performance has taught me adaptability, resilience, and the importance of preparation. Whether on stage, in rehearsal, or stepping in at the last minute, the responsibility remains the same: to deliver a performance that supports the music and those involved.
These experiences continue to inform my teaching. I bring a realistic understanding of performance into the classroom, helping students prepare not only technically, but mentally — so they are ready to perform with confidence in real-world situations.
Why This Matters for Teaching
My performing career is not separate from my teaching — it defines it. Every rehearsal, concert, and stage experience informs how I prepare students for real performance situations.
I have always believed that music education must go beyond theory. Understanding performance means experiencing it — feeling the pressure of being on stage, responding in the moment, and communicating with an audience through sound. These are elements that cannot be taught in isolation; they must be lived.
My work as a performer has taken me across a wide range of musical settings, from small ensemble performances to larger stages and collaborative productions. Each context has required focus, adaptability, and preparation, reinforcing the realities of live performance that I bring directly into the classroom.
In my teaching, I aim to create opportunities for students to experience music in a similarly active and meaningful way. This includes performing regularly, working as part of an ensemble, and developing the confidence to present their work in front of others. Students learn that performance is not just about accuracy, but about communication, presence, and purpose.
For me, music education is about preparing students for real musical situations. It is about helping them develop the confidence to step onto a stage, manage challenges, and perform with intention. Technical skill is essential, but it is through performance that music becomes real.