German Music Industry
Wilhelm Mönnig, his brother Friedrich, and cousin first removed Klaus are owners of Gebrüder Mönnig which produce high quality woodwind instruments in Markneukirchen. Their grandfathers, Hans and Fritz Mönnig, founded the company in 1906. The next generation of four children; Willi, Horst, Hans,...
Matthias Hellinger and his brother, Andreas, own Rohema which was founded in 1888 by Eduard Robert Hellinger and produced batons, drumsticks, and percussion instruments. The company was small enough during socialist times in East Germany to remain private, but production was challenging. The...
Carsten Göpf has combined his passion for playing the trumpet with an affinity for engineering in his profession as the plant manager for the brass factory at Buffet Crampon in Markneukirchen. Carsten did his apprenticeship at Wenzel Meinl GmbH known for first class brass instruments. As assistant...
Carola Schlegel is director of the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukrichen. This juried contest is held every year with the alteration of string and wind instruments. As a representative of the city of Markneukirchen, Carola Schlegel is not only responsible for the competition but...
Friedrich Mönnig started to build oboes, clarinets, and bassoons in 1955 for his dad, Willi Mönnig’s, company. Later he became head of the production of flutes at Gebrüder Mönnig and worked there until the year 2000. As did his brother, Friedrich, and Klaus, who is their cousin first removed, and...
Jochen Keilwerth’s grandfather founded the Julius Keilwerth Saxophones company in 1925 in Grasnitz. Once one of the largest saxophone producers in Europe, Keilwerth also produced trumpets and trombones, and gained a particular reputation for the Keilwerth SX90R saxophone that was introduced in...
Klaus Götz’ family comes from Wernitzgrün, a small town not far from Markneukirchen. His grandfather, Conrad August Götz, founded C.A. Götz in 1884 which initially produced tuning pegs and strings. In 1958, Klaus Götz, together with his brother Karlheinz, traveled to the United States to personally...
Manfred Gleissner is a part of Gleissner tonewoods, which is known for supplying high quality tonewood to luthiers around the world. Grandfather Anton Gleissner founded the company with his brother in 1905 sourcing the wood form Bosnia and the Carpathian Mountains. After 1945 the family resettled...
Dieter Fischer comes from a family of luthiers and started working for Höfner in Bubenreuth when he was 14 years old. He continued working for the next 56 years for Höfner, of which 30 years were as a plant manager. Dieter learned his craft from several luthiers in the company and from his dad,...
Ernst Lang married Paula Prüller 1958 in Luby, Czech Republic, formerly named Schönbach, and both came from families involved in the production of musical instruments. Ernst Lang’s father, Rudolf, made violins and violas while Paula’s father, Andreas Prüller, owned a company producing purflings for...