Biographical Sketch

Thomas Jahn was born in Berlin in 1940 and now makes his home in Hamburg. After completing his studies in piano, trombone and composition at music schools in Berlin and Hamburg, he taught trombone at the Hochschule fuer Music in Hamburg. In 1969 Jahn spent a year in Los Angeles studying “pop music.” Since then he has worked in the area of musical theatre, television and music publishing. Jahn has written operas, ballets and musicals as well as instrumental chamber music and several song cycles.

Jahn was commissioned in 1991 by the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Winnipeg, through the inspiration of Ben Horch, to compose a song cycle based on Mennonite Kernlieder (Kernlieder meaning the core or essence of the Mennonite faith). The song cycle was completed in 1991. Hymns for the cycle were chosen from the Ausbund (1742) and the Gesangbuch der Mennoniten Bruedergemeinde (1952).