I was born on the 4th August 1960 as the son of a vicar in Berlin-Weissensee (in East Germany at the time). I was denied secondary education for political reasons. After completing an apprenticeship as a builder (specialising in wall building) and absolving military service as Bausoldat (service unarmed) I was able to begin a course at the “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” University of Music in Leipzig specialising in the double bass, culminating in a degree. In 1989 I attained a degree in music pedagogy from the same university.

From 1986 I was principal bass of the Robert-Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) and from 1988 in the same function with the Jena Philharmonic. Since 1989 I am a member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig.

I have been married to Elisabeth Spree née Gädeke since 1986. We have six children.

Since my student days, I have been very interested in music history also, which led me to do intensive research in this field and eventually to lecture activities. In 2018 I obtained a Ph.D. from the “Carl Maria von Weber” University of Music in Dresden with the thesis "Die verwitwete Frau Capellmeisterin Bach. Studie über die Verteilung des Nachlasses von Johann Sebastian Bach". In August 2021 my book "Die Frau Capellmeisterin Anna Magdalena Bach. Ein Zeitbild " was published. Since December 2021, I have been running a blog in which I regularly publish scientifically based articles about Anna Magdalena Bach.

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