Prof. Lutz Koppetsch

Lutz Koppetsch grows up in Krefeld, surrounded by the music of his mother, who plays classical guitar and piano. It is she who notices her son's joyful singing and constant whistling and supports Lutz in his search for a suitable instrument. Finally, Lutz Koppetsch meets the spirited Hungarian clarinetist and music teacher Laszlo Dömötör, through whom, after initial studies on the clarinet, he finds his way at the age of 9 to the instrument that seems to have grown with him ever since: the saxophone.
Despite great involvement in local rock, punk and big bands, Lutz always remains faithful to classical music, even as a teenager. A rebellious attitude toward the perceived conservative structures of his environment contrasts with his unwavering enthusiasm for making music within a classical music framework, especially ensemble playing. With his saxophone quartet Saxemble, Lutz Koppetsch became first prize winner of the "Jugend Musiziert" competition four times. Together, the four young saxophonists travel as musical ambassadors to Japan, Central America, North Africa and the United States, inspiring audiences with their uncompromising interpretations and youthful joy of playing, always at a high technical level. Also in Germany, often as scholarship holders of the German Foundation of Musical Life, the Sax Ensemble plays in the framework of almost all important music festivals and makes radio and CD recordings.
In the final years of his high school years, Lutz Koppetsch begins to become more involved in music independent of ensemble playing. He attends master classes with renowned saxophone teachers such as Johannes Ernst, Claude Delangle and Arno Bornkamp. With the latter he soon begins his training at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam . After further competition successes, among others at the German Music Competition in Berlin and at the International Music Competition of the ARD in Munich, and subsequent studies at the conservatories of Paris and Versailles, Lutz Koppetsch receives in 2001, at the age of 26, a call as a lecturer for classical saxophone at the University of Music Würzburg and at the same time settles in Cologne. Here he becomes a member of the Alliage Quartet - saxophone plus. Acclaimed concert evenings of the Alliage Quartet lead to the award of the ECHO Klassik 2005 for the CD "Una voce poco fa" and a celebrated performance at the ZDF Echo-Klassik-Gala 2006.
In addition to his work with the Alliage Quartet, Lutz Koppetsch performs with the pianists Markus Bellheim or Manfred Schmidt, the Signum String Quartet and the wind quintet Ensemble DIX, or as a sought-after guest musician with the Ensemble Modern, the WDR Symphony Orchestra or the Essen Philharmonic, among others.
Please also visit Lutz Koppetsch's personal website!