Detmold Hochschule für Musik

German born guitarist Thomas-Friedrich Kirchhoff studied at the Musikhochschule in Dortmund and then privately in London with British virtuoso David Russell from 1986 to 1987. Since 1986 he has given more than 1.000 concerts in over 50 countries (besides in the Amadeus Guitar Duo he played between 1989-1993 in the Ensemble Duo "Ars Vivendi" with German flautist Doris Dietz). He has produced sixteen highly acclaimed CD's (haenssler classic / FONO). Cover stories and Interviews with Thomas Kirchhoff and Dale Kavanagh appeared in Classical Guitar (2001), Gitarre & Laute (1996, 2001), Gitar och Luta (1999), Musikblatt (1994), Klassik Heute (2000, 2004), Akustik Gitarre (1998, 2000, 2004, 2009), Scala (1999), Fono-Forum (2001, 2007, 2010) Guitart Magazine (2004, 2008).

Prominent composers have dedicated Thomas Kirchhoff their works. Among them are concertos for two guitars and orchestra by Harald Genzmer of Munich and Gerald Garcia of Oxford and Gheorghe Zamfir of Bucharest. Works for guitar and flute and works for the Amadeus Guitar Duo have been written by a wide range of composers including Stephen Dodgson, Carlo Domeniconi, Roland Dyens, Jaime Zenamon, Martin Herchenröder, Toby Twining, Harald Genzmer, Peter Michael Hamel, and Christian Jost.

In 1992 he founded the International Guitar-Symposion Iserlohn, Germany (www.guitarsymposium.com) that is with more then 220 students from 50 countries now one of the most prominent international guitar seminars world-wide. After having established the Iserlohn Festival, Thomas Kirchhoff organises also the Acadia Classical Guitar Festival in Wolfville, NS, Canada (www.acadia-guitar-festival.com) which has also developed as one of the largest guitar festivals in North-America within a few years.
Thomas Kirchhoff was teaching guitar and Fachdidaktik at the Musikhochschule in Dortmund from 1999 to 2004 and is teaching at the Musikhochschule in Detmold since 2004.

Fascination of the Guitar: The Amadeus Guitar Duo

They are counted among the top-class international guitar duos, receiving enthusiastic reviews from all over the world. Canadian Dale Kavanagh and her German partner Thomas Kirchhoff have made up the Amadeus Guitar Duo since 1991. The secret of their success, regularly documented by more than 70 concerts per year, is the complete devotion of the two artists to their instrument. Hence they did not limit themselves to playing as a duo, but began to concentrate on the repertoire for guitar and orchestra. Thanks to their commitment, this genre was soon able to emerge from its niche. In more than 100 cities, they played their "Spanish Night" recital, featuring concertos for one, two and four guitars and orchestra by Joaquin Rodrigo and the world-famous pan flutist Gheorghe Zamfir.

The Amadeus Guitar Duo has so far appeared in more than 850 concerts in 50 or more countries in Europe, Central, South and North America, and Asia. The duo has always been able to delight its audience with its exuberant temperament, virtuoso performance, sensitive creative power and a fulsome, warm, carrying guitar tone. They regularly play together with the Prague, Mainz and Mannheim Chamber Orchestras, the Halle Philharmonic State Orchestra, the International Philharmonie, the Gotha-Suhl Thuringian Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Hungarica, the Capella Cracoviensis, the Ankara President Orchestra and the South Westphalian Philharmonic.

Dale Kavanagh and Thomas Kirchhoff have recorded a large number of productions for radio and television (BBC, ZDF, CBC, WDR, BR, TRT, etc.). They have also recorded 15 CDs (Haenssler-Classic) which document the high quality of the Amadeus Guitar Duo. The two artists' stirring commitment and inspiring style of playing have enabled them to considerably broaden the repertoire for guitar, especially for guitar and orchestra. Such renowned composers as Harald Genzmer, Gheorghe Zamfir, Roland Dyens (Paris), Jaime Zenamon (Curitiba), Christian Jost (Cologne), Carlo Domeniconi (Berlin), Gerald Garcia (Oxford), Martin Herchenröder (Siegen) have written orchestral concertos for them. Stephen Dodgson (London), Harald Genzmer (Munich), Jaime M. Zenamon (Curitiba) and Christian Jost (Cologne) have dedicated compositions for two guitars to them. All works have been published by Schott's, Mainz - Edition Margaux, Berlin, Edition Peters, Frankfurt, and Verlag Hubertus Nogatz, Essen.

In 1992 they founded the International Guitar Symposium in Iserlohn, which is today one of the most important festivals of its kind in Europe, with more than 200 participants from more than 40 countries, concerts featuring world-famous stars, master courses, lectures, exhibitions and many other activities (www.guitarsymposium.com ).

In the 2010-11 season, these successful musicians have been invited to tour the U.S.A., Canada, England, Italy, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Turkey, Romania and Poland. Today, Dale Kavanagh and Thomas Kirchhoff live with their daughter Melissa-Rachel in Germany, and both are professors who have been teaching at the newly launched guitar class of the Detmold Music School since 2003 (www.hfm-detmold.de). The Amadeus Guitar Duo plays exclusively with D'Addario strings on guitars made in Bosto, U.S.A. by Stephan Connor and Toni Müller, Germany.



Press comments:

"Surely one of the most innovative duos in the world"

(Gitarre & Laute, 1998)

"Real professionals for guitar and orchestra"

(Musikmarkt, 2003)

"Any Rodrigo connoisseur will be thrilled with this."

(American Record Guide, USA, 2001)

"A great success!" on the Spanish Night 1 CD

(Zupfmusik, 2001)

"Once again, thoroughly commendable" on Spanish Night 2

(Acoustic Guitar Mag., 2004)

Amadeus Guitar Duo
Prof. Thomas-F. Kirchhoff
Oestricher Straße 39b
D-58638 Iserlohn / Germany
Tel.: +49/(0)2371/560707
Mobil: +49/(0)173/20-95-685
http://www.amadeusduo.com
http://www.guitarsymposium.com
http://www.iserlohn-competition.com
http://www.hfm-detmold.de
http://www.orte-paul-celans.de

15.10.10 Madrid/Spanien
16.10.10 Madrid/Spanien
03.11.10 Schwerte (Haus Villigst)
07.11.10 Hagen ( 19h Ref. Kirche)
07.01.11 Remscheid (Gitarrenfestival)
18.01.11 Gießen (Kulturrathaus)
13.02.11 Heilbronn (Spanische Nacht mit Orch.)
18.02.11 Hamburg (Laiszhalle)
19.02.11 Hamburg (Meisterkurs)
20.02.11 Brake/Bielefeld (17.00 Uhr Ev. Kirche)
25.02.11 Holzgerlingen (Hänssler-Verlag)
26.02.11 Ellwangen (Schloss)
27.02.11 Langen/Frankfurt (Spanische Nacht mit Orch.)
25.03.11 Winterthur/Schweiz
26.03.11 Winterthur//Schweiz
27.03.11 Bulle/Schweiz
03.04.11 Herten (Schloss - 11h)
12.04.11 Acapulco/Mexiko
28.04.11 La Guaira/Venezuela
07.05.11 Iserlohn (Oberste Stadtkirche - 20-jähriges Bestehen Amadeus Duo)
20.05.11 Geldrop/Niederlande
21.05.11 Geldrop/Niederlande
16.07.11 Aichach (mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
22.07.11 Menden (Guitar Gala Night mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
24.07.11 Iserlohn (Guitar Gala Night mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
29.07.11 Kloster Eberbach (Spanish Night mit Duo Gruber & Maklar, Württemb. KO)
02.08.11 Mosbach (Guitar Gala Night mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
15.08.11 Montenegro (Int. Guitar Festival)
16.08.11 Herceg Novi(Montenegro (Int. Guitar Festival)
18.09.11 Iserlohn (5. Barendorfer Klassik-Fest)
23.09.11 Rheda-Wiedenbrück (Int. Orgelsommer - Gala Night mit Gruber & Maklar)
30.09.11 Göttingen 03.10.10 Celle (Spanische Nacht / Göttinger Symphonie Orch)
01.10.11 Ettelbrück/Luxemburg
02.10.11 Sulingen
03.10.11 Celle (Spanische Nacht mit Göttinger Symphonie Orchester)
26.10.11 Campobasso/Italien
27.10.11 Campobasso/Italien
28.10.11 Rom/Italien (Academia Romania)
09.11.11 Bad Homburg (Gala-Night mit Gruber & Maklar)
10.11.11 Völklingen (Gala-Night mit Gruber & Maklar)
13.11.11 Lebach (Gala-Night mit Gruber & Maklar)
20.11.11 Bückeburg (Schloss)
23.01.12 Iserlohn(Spanish Night mit Orch. u. Duo Gruber & Maklar)
24.02.12 Osterholz-Scharmberck (Gut Sandbeck)
25.02.12 Warburg (Meisterkonzerte)
11.03.12 Achern (11.00 Uhr - mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
11.03.12 Achern (19.00 Uhr mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
17.03.12 Beausoleil/Monaco
29.04.12 Manfredonia/Italien
30.04.12 Manfredonia/Italien
03.06.12 Santiago de Compostela/Spanien (mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
15.06.12 Grünstadt (Guitar Gala Night mit Duo Gruber & Maklar - 18h)
16.06.12 Weilburg (Spanish Night mit Orch. u. Duo Gruber & Maklar)
17.06.12 Bocholt (Bocholter Orgeltage Duo Gruber & Maklar - 18h)
30.06.12 Landsberg (Orgelsommer - mit Duo Gruber & Maklar)
08.07.12 St. Andrews/Schottland (Guitar Festival)
09.07.12 St. Andrews/Schottland (Guitar Festival)
14.08.12 Iserlohn (21st Guitar-Symposium)
16.09.12 Barendorf (6.Klassik-Fest)