Matthias Schneider is a professor of church musicwith a focus on organ playing at the University of Greifswald. He is the founder of the "Greifswald Summer Academy for Organ" (1996) and is internationally sought after as both a performer and musicologist.
His work focuses on music for keyboard instruments from the 16th to the 18th centuries. He is currently working on a handbook of performance practice for the organ. As a soloist and a member of various ensembles (including "I Cornetti Pomerani" and "Musica Baltica Rostock"), he performs Baroque music as well as premieres of new works, and he regularly participates in music festivals. His profile also includes giving lectures, program introductions, discussion concerts, interpretation courses, and serving as a juror in international competitions.
Schneider studied church music, musicology, art history, and church history in Münster, Essen, and Basel, and attended numerous masterclasses. In Basel, he was awarded a Ph.D. for his work on Buxtehude's chorale fantasies. From 1984 to 1993, he worked as a district cantor in Schopfheim (South Baden) and as a research assistant at the University of Basel. From 1989 to 1995, he led an organ class at the University of Church Music in Heidelberg. Since 1994, he has been teaching at the University of Greifswald.
