Gunter Kennel – born and raised in the West Palatinate in 1961, studied Protestant church music (A), concert organ and theology from 1980 to 1989 in Munich and London. In 1989 he completed his organ studies with the master class diploma. His organ teachers were Franz Lehrndorfer and Nicolas Kynaston.
Already during his studies he was a church musician in Munich and from 1992 on the Passion Church and the Church of the Holy Cross in Berlin-Kreuzberg, both well-known concert churches, in which a variety of music styles are located. His experiences, which he was able to collect there with these musical styles, also influence his concert programs, which are constantly interspersed with stylistic boundaries and experimental elements.
As a concert organist and conductor, he looks back on a long concert experience at home and abroad. Concert tours have taken him to the USA and South Africa in addition to many European countries. In addition, he has participated in numerous CD, television and radio recordings. As a composer, he performs in the field of organ and choir music.
With his appointment as Regional Church Music Director for the area of the former Protestant Church in Berlin-Brandenburg on September 1, 2002, Gunter Kennel has also taken over organ commission from the regional church at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin. Since 2004 he has worked as regional church music director of the Protestant Church Berlin Brandenburg-Silesian Oberlausitz.
As a doctor of theology, he teaches at the Humboldt University and the University of the Arts in Berlin, and since 2011 has been Honorary Professor of Sacred Music. His teaching has resulted in numerous publications on theological aspects of the relationship between music and religion.
