Lucius Hemmer

Professor Lucius A. Hemmer, born in 1965, has served as General Manager of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra since 2003.

His vision is to provide the people of the Nuremberg metropolitan region with tangible cultural added value through the orchestra’s work and to elevate its social relevance to the highest possible level.

Hemmer first studied bassoon and later conducting in Hannover, Philadelphia, and Munich. Alongside his musical education, he completed a degree in business administration at the AFW Business Academy in Bad Harzburg, combining artistic expertise with managerial competence.

He was a member of the Festival Orchestra at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, where he performed as principal bassoonist under legendary conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Sergiu Celibidache, Georg Solti, Valery Gergiev and Christoph Eschenbach.

As a conductor, he led the Camerata Academica, the orchestra of the Technical University of Munich, for four years. His extensive involvement in radio, CD and television productions further complements his multifaceted musical profile.

Hemmer has received numerous distinctions, including two first prizes at the German national competition “Jugend musiziert.” He was also awarded a scholarship by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. For many years, he worked as a freelance musician and soloist and served as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich.

Thanks to his outstanding international network, Hemmer regularly brings some of the most renowned artists of our time to Nuremberg for classical concerts. Under his leadership, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra has developed an innovative cross-genre concert approach, integrating video and film, literature and dance, as well as pop elements into the classical concert experience.

He is particularly dedicated to working with children and young people, introducing them to classical music through age-appropriate concepts. Special programmes for people with dementia further expand the orchestra’s inclusive cultural mission.

In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Professor Lucius A. Hemmer has been teaching the key qualification course “Music Law, Marketing and Event Management” at the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg since the winter semester 2009/10 and was appointed Honorary Professor there in 2019.

From 1993 onward, Hemmer increasingly focused on music management, founding and directing various ensembles and becoming an organiser. He worked with Justus Frantz and his team at the Philharmonie der Nationen as tour manager and later as orchestra manager. In 1999, he moved to the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle as orchestra manager and subsequently became director of the Kammerphilharmonie Amadé.