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Born: January 9, 1902 - Bremen-Findorff, Germany
Died: October 5, 1975 - Bremen, Germany |
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The German choral conductor, organist and music pedagogue, Wilhelm Evers, was the son of a shoemaker. He grew up in Bremen-Findorff. After attending elementary school on Herbststrasse, he completed training as a teacher at the Bremer Lehrerseminar in the Hamburger Straße. The music pedagogue Karl Seiffert promoted him and on the basis of his suggestion Evers became an auxiliary organist at the Bremen Cathedral. He also worked as a teacher at a Mädchenschule (girls' school). General Music Director Ernst Wendel has employed him as a harpsichordist in the Bremer Philharmonie since 1923.
From 1924 Wilhem Evers was organist and choral conductor at St. Stephanikirche. It was through him that the works of the composer Max Reger became known in Bremen. He was also often used as a répétiteur for the Bremer Domchor (Bremen Cathedral Choir). During the World War II, he was a soldier and a prisoner of war. In August he returned and the cathedral cantor Richard Liesche immediately appointed him as cathedral organist.
In 1946 Wilhelm Evers became a music teacher at the Kippenberg-Gymnasium in Bremen-Schwachhausen. Here he also directed the girls' choir. At the Bremen Cathedral he promoted the performance of motets and cantatas during the service. He also organized cantata evenings as cathedral vespers as well as nativity plays with musical accompaniment. From 1948 he was a lecturer for organ, harpsichord and music theory at the Musikschule Bremen (Bremen Music School) and from 1951 to 1967 he was a full-time lecturer and then professor at the Pädagogischen Hochschule Bremen.
Even after his retirement, Wilhelm Evers remained cathedral organist until 1973. Above all, he cultivated the J.S. Bach tradition. In 1960 Radio Bremen recorded the J.S. Bach work played by Evers and others. He continued the work of cathedral organist Liesche during his illness and after his death until 1958, when Hans Heintze succeeded him as cathedral organist. |
