Honor for Stephan Rommelspacher: Lasso Medal awarded in Augsburg!

Honor for Stephan Rommelspacher: Lasso Medal awarded in Augsburg!

On November 3, 2025, the Orlando di Lasso Medal was awarded to the outstanding church musician Stephan Rommelspacher at the general meeting of the General Cecilia Association for Germany in Augsburg. Like that Diocese of Dresden-Meissen reported, the award took place in the course of Rommelspacher's farewell from his office, which he resigned on August 31, 2025. The delay in the honor was due to the fact that Monsignor Markus Bosbach, the association's president, was previously tied to a medal ceremony in Cologne Cathedral.

The Lasso Medal is considered the highest award in the field of Catholic church music in Germany. Their award requires the approval of the presidiums of the sister associations in Austria and Switzerland. Rommelspacher can look back on an impressive career spanning 45 years, which includes positions as cathedral cantor in Villingen in the Black Forest, cathedral music director in Trier and provost cantor in Leipzig.

Special services

His work is characterized by numerous significant contributions. In Villingen, he was responsible, among other things, for the reconstruction of the impressive Johann Andreas Silbermann organ from 1752. During his time in Trier, he set reformatory accents at the cathedral and initiated the establishment of a cathedral cantor position as well as the construction of a primary school for cathedral music and a modern choir house. In Leipzig he was significantly involved in the transformation of the structures at the new provost church and established the “Leipzig Evening Praise” series.

In addition, he was always involved beyond city and diocese boundaries, founding the Federal Association of Catholic Church Musicians in Germany (BKKD) in 1993 and the Pueri Cantores Association for East German dioceses in 2016. His participation in the new Praise to God as well as his representation in diocesan parts with songs and chants should not be underestimated.

A legacy of commitment

Rommelspacher's compositions found their place in various choir books, and he was co-editor of the Freiburg choir book from 1994 and the Trier choir book from 2014. He has also been vice president of the ACV since 2022 and, with the Lasso Medal, is now receiving the Lasso Medal, the second award of a cantor from the provost community of St. Trinitatis Leipzig, after Prof. Georg Trexler, who received the honor in 1970. Other honorees include well-known personalities such as Peter Playavsky, Georg Ratzinger, John Rutter, Enjott Schneider and Arvo Pärt.

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