The big band of the PH Heidelberg has been bringing a fresh jazz sound to the stage for over 30 years. Around 20-25 musicians - students, alumni and jazz fans from the region - provide rousing grooves between swing, funk, Latin and modern jazz under the direction of Paul Stoltze.
Whether Duke Ellington, Bob Mintzer or their own arrangements - the focus is on the joy of playing, improvisation and a shared groove. At concerts at the university and in the region, we show that big band jazz is lively, versatile and absolutely contemporary.
Paul Stoltze has been an integral part of the music and cultural scene in the Rhine-Neckar region around Mannheim and Heidelberg for over 15 years as a saxophonist, composer and lecturer. After studying jazz in Mannheim and Nuremberg (Bachelor saxophone with Jürgen Seefelder; Master composition/arrangement with Steffen Schorn), he moves stylistically between modern jazz, pop & soul and free improvisation.
In his solo project Sax.Beat.Repeat. he shows his signature as a composer and arranger in combination with electronic sounds and loops. He is a member of the board of the Mannheim big band Kicks 'n' Sticks and occasionally takes on the artistic direction of the band.
He has been the director of the big band at the Heidelberg University of Education since 2012 and is now a lecturer in the following areas:
- Instrumental lessons (saxophone, clarinet, jazz flute)
- Music theory I and II Jazz and popular music
- Sound engineering media
- Digital music practice
His affinity for pedagogy also prompted him to found his own workshop in 2023, the Saxophone Compact Workshop, which has since been established in Mannheim.
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