Biography René Wohlhauser, composer, pianist, author, baritone, improviser, conductor, ensemble leader and music teacher.
* 1954 Born, grew up in Brienz. Many years’ experience as rock and jazz musician before he turned to classical and contemporary music.
* 1975-79 Basel Conservatory: counterpoint, harmony, analysis, score-reading, improvisation, instrumentation and composition with Thomas Kessler, Robert Suter, Jacques Wildberger and Jürg Wyttenbach. Further courses in electronic music, film music, noneuropean music and conducting, as well as philosophy (with Hans Saner). Music theory teaching diploma. Composition courses with Kazimierz Serocki, Mauricio Kagel, Herbert Brün and Heinz Holliger. In depth composition studies with Klaus Huber and Brian Ferneyhough.
* 1978: "Valentino Bucchi" Composition Prize, Rome, for "Souvenirs de l'Occitanie" for solo clarinet.
* 1981: Association of German Music Schools’ Composition Prize, Bonn, for "Stilstudien" for piano, four guitars and two percussionists.
* 1983: VJMZ Composition Prize, Zürich.
* 1984: City and Canton Fribourg Composition Prize for "Fragmente für Orchester".
* 1987: Salzburg Cathedral Chapter Composition Prize for "Orgelstück".
* 1988: Kranichsteiner Stipendienpreis at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt for "Adagio assai" for string quartet (premièred by the Arditti Quartet).
* 1990: Eastern Swiss Foundation for Music and Theatre Composition Prize, St. Gallen: 1st Prize for "Klarinettentrio Metamusik".
* 1991: Bursary from the Luzern Department of Education.
* 1992: Commendation Prize of the Swiss Society for the Furtherance of Musical Education, Zürich, for the often published essay "From Simple Graphic Notations and Text Compositions to Thinking in Music".
* 1996: "Selection" price from Swiss Radio International for the portrait CD "in statu mutandi".
* 1998: Bursary from the Basel-Landschaft Departement of Education.
* 2004: World première of the opera "Gantenbein" at the Lucerne theatre in collaboration with the international festival of the world new music days and the lucerne symphony orchestra.
* 2008/2009/2010/2011 …: Concert tours with the own ensemble "Polysono" in Basel, Bern, Zurich, Lucerne, Munich, Berlin, Vienna and London.
* Many performances in Switzerland and abroad, e.g. Schauspielhaus Berlin, Nôtre-Dame de Paris, Tokyo, Roma, Toronto, New Castle, Azerbaijan, Scandinavia, Basle, Zürich, Frankfurt, Speyrer Dom, Klangforum Vienna, Glinka hall St. Petersburg, Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich, amongst others and also often at festivals such as the Darmstadt Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Tage für Neue Musik Zürich, the international festival of Odessa, Sofia, Cardiff, Brisbane and the Schweizerisches Tonkünstlerfest. Several portrait concerts.
* Guest teacher for composition at the Internationale Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (1988-94), at the festival of Odessa (1996-98) and at the international composers course in Lugano (2000).
* Active as lecturer, above all on own works.
* Publications on compositional, aesthetic and philosophical aspects of new music, in among others "MusikTexte" Cologne, "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" and the "Darmstädter Beiträge zur Neuen Musik".
* Commissions from Switzerland and abroad.
* Studio recordings by home and foreign radio stations, as well as portrait concerts and guest lectures on radio.
* Articles on his compositional work published by many musicologists.
* His works are available on various CDs.
* Co-founder together with Mathias Steinauer of the Basle Composers’ Forum and the worldwide score distribution agency "Adesso".
* Since 1979 teacher of music theory and composition at the Basle Music Academy (and 1979-91 at the Luzern Academy). Lives as freelance composer in Basle.