Johannes G. Schmidt grew up in a family of musicians and thus gained his first experience with the music of Bach, Schütz and Handel at an early age. He initially studied school music and special needs education before he took up studying vocals at the Dresden Conservatory. After graduation, he pursued postgraduate studies as a member of the lied and concert class under Olaf Bär and Christian Elßner. Additionally, study visits let him to the Wroclaw Conservatory (Poland).
Owing to his confident and expressive interpretation he is a sought-after soloist, especially in the field of early music. He collaborates with leading ensembles throughout Europe and Asia, such as the Lautten Compagney Berlin, Capella Augustana Bologna, Dresdner Kapellsolisten, Batzdorfer Hofkapelle, Neues Bachsches Collegium musicum Leipzig or Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra.
His wide repertoire ranges from Renaissance to contemporary music and he also appeared in various premiere performances. Thus, orchestras like the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and the Dresden and Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra are also among his musical partners. Furthermore, he performed in opera productions, for example at the Sächsische Staatsoper.
Lately, he has increasingly focused on lieder recitals. Accompanied by the pianist Annegret Reich, he performs recitals throughout Germany.
Regular radio and television productions as well as CD recordings (e.g. the complete recordings of the works of Schütz for Brillant Classics) demonstrate the wide variety of his work.
The bass-baritone appears regularly at important festivals, both nationally and internationally. Among them are the Leipziger Bachfest, Festival Bologna, Prague Spring International Music Festival, Milan-Turin Music Festival, International Wrateslawia Cantans, Festival of Early Music Utrecht, Deutsches Mozartfest, Filharmonica Romana, Rheingau Musikfestival and the Deutsche Schützfest.
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