Hans Münch was a Swiss conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, cellist

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, pianist

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

, and music educator of Alsatian

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 birth. His compositional output includes one symphony

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 (premiered 1951), a Sympbonische Improvisationen (1971), and a number of cantata

Cantata

A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

s.

Life and career

Born into a family of musicians in Mulhouse

Mulhouse

Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Münch was the son of conductor Eugen Münch and the nephew of organist and choral conductor Ernst Münch

Ernst Münch (musician)

Ernst Münch was an Alsatian organist and choir conductor.Münch taught organ at the Strasbourg Conservatory where his pupils included Joseph Müller-Blattau, Heinrich Boell, and Adolf Hamm. For many years he was the organist/choirmaster at Saint William's Church, Strasbourg. There he founded the...

 (1859-1928). He began his musical training with his father before pursuing studies in the organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

 and music theory

Music theory

Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...

 with Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...

. In 1912 he moved to Basel

Basel

Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, ultimately becoming a naturalized citizen of Switzerland. He studied at the Basel Conservatory with Emil Braun (cello), Adolf Hamm (organ), and Hans Huber

Hans Huber (composer)

Hans Huber was a composer from Switzerland.He was born in Eppenberg-Wöschnau . The son of an amateur musician, Huber became a chorister and showed an early talent for the piano. In 1870 he entered Leipzig Conservatory...

 (composition).

From 1914-1916 Münch was a cellist in the Basel Symphony Orchestra. In 1918 he joined the faculty of the Basel Conservatory where he taught piano through 1932. He served as the director of the conservatory from 1935-1947. One of his notable students was Armando Santiago

Armando Santiago

Armando Santiago is a Canadian composer, conductor, music educator, and university administrator of Portuguese birth. A member of the Canadian League of Composers, his compositional output includes a considerable amount of orchestral works and chamber works...

.

From 1921-1926 Münch conducted the Bach Choir in Basel, after which he was active directing various choral societies in the city like the Basel Gesangverein and the Basel Liedertafel. From 1935-1966 he conducted the Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft in Basel. He died in Basel at the age of 90.