Markus Geiselhart
Born in Stuttgart/Germany in 1977, composer, arranger, bandleader and trombonist Markus Geiselhart studied jazz trombone at the University of Music in Würzburg/Germany. He was a member of the „Bavarian State Youth Jazz Orchestra“ and played under the direction of Peter Herbolzheimer in the „German Federal Youth Jazz Orchestra (BuJazzO)“. In 2005, he founded the „Würzburg Jazz Orchestra (WJO)“, which he led musically and organizationally for six years. During this time he performed around 40 concerts with 33 different programs and over 100 participating artists.
In 2006 he moved to Vienna. With the „Mnozil Brass“-trumpeter Thomas Gansch, he launched the „Don Ellis Tribute Orchestra“ in 2008. In 2010 he founded his “Markus Geiselhart Orchestra (MGO)” with which he was the „stage band“ in the Viennese jazz club „Porgy&Bess“ in the 2013/14 season and released the critically acclaimed album „My Instrument is the Orchestra“ in 2016. In the same year, he toured with the MGO and the exceptional American trombonist Ray Anderson and made guest appearances at the renowned „Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele“ (Germany), among others.
In 2019 he composed the „Wiener Neustädter Kanal Suite“ commissioned by the municipality of Pfaffstätten as part of the „Lower Austrian Provincial Exhibition“, which was released on CD in 2021 with the „Big Band Pfaffstätten“ and trumpeter Andy Haderer as soloist. In 2020, commissioned by the city of Baden near Vienna, he composed a program for jazz orchestra for the „Beethoven year“.
He also works as a guest conductor with various jazz orchestras, such as the “Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra”, and has been invited to workshops by several big bands. He is also a regular lecturer for jazz and big band seminars, such as the annual big band seminar of the „Musikfabrik Niederösterreich“.
As a composer and arranger, in addition to big band compositions, he has created works for „Art of Brass Vienna“ or „Salaputia Brass“, among others. Collaboration with the South African „MIAGI Orchestra“, for which he gave workshops and arranged the program for a European tour.
In 2022, he founded the „Edition geiselART“, where he mainly publishes his own works.
As a trombonist he brought the multimedia homage to Albert Mangelsdorff „Hut ab!“ on stage, works with a solo program, in the duo project „GAMP“ together with the Viennese lyricist Peter Ahorner, as well with the trio „GEISELHART / KOLLER / THALER“ and can be heard with his quartet or his „Beatles Project“.
He taught theory, composition and arrangement at the „Jam Music Lab Privatuniversität“ in Vienna from 2012 to 2020 and accompanied the position of dean there from 2017 to 2019. Since 2013 he holds a teaching position for big band conducting and ensemble at the „mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna“ and is invited by universities to give workshops and master classes, such as the „University of the Witwatersrand“, Johannesburg (South Africa).
selected press reviews:
„Jazz all-rounder Markus Geiselhart always succeeds in opening up new horizons for the big band format.“
Jörg Palitzsch, Bietigheimer Zeitung (Germany) 12/19/2015
„Geiselhart’s instrument is the orchestra, and he plays it masterfully.“
Rainer Bratfisch, Jazzpodium (Germany) – April 2016
„On the cutting edge.“ Frank Armbruster, Stuttgarter Zeitung (Germany) 6/28/2016
„What the native German brings to the ear together with the orchestra is an insanely varied, stylistically diverse and wonderfully timeless big band sound in a class of its own.“
MICA, music austria (Austria), June 2021
„The Wiener Neustädter Kanal Suite is program music that is not stingy with melodies.
Like Smetana’s Moldau, only for big band.“
BRAWOO (Germany), September 2021
„Geiselhart’s compositions and arrangements testify to his extraordinary talent for making a big band sound; they are colorful, stylistically varied and melodious in the best sense of the word.“
Jazz’n’more (Switzerland), September 2021