Edwin Mertes

Edwin Mertes was born on 18.04.1939 in Mettlach / Saar. The music did not become his profession, but a passion that is far more than a hobby to him. First early childhood experiences he made on the mandolin. Later, he studied other plucking, string, wind and keyboard instruments. In addition to active music-making in the span of chamber music to jazz and his over three decades as a part-time activity as a church musician, organist and choirmaster, the plucking music remained the most important and fruitful musical field of activity. Here he was / is active as a musician (Mandola, Mandoloncello, contrabass), conductor, course lecturer, composer, arranger and editor as well as part-time organist and choirmaster. Among his most influential teachers and role models are Siegfried Behrend, Takashi Ochi and Heinrich Konietzny. So far, more than one hundred of his compositions and arrangements as well as numerous biographical and historical articles written by him have been published on well-known persons from the surroundings of plucked music. Edwin Mertes has been a member of the Saarland Zupforchester (SZO) for over three decades.