Vitae

Jens Schliecker and Nils Rohwer are two exceptional musicians whose musical heart also beats beyond the stage. Both have an outstanding reputation as composers of film scores, chamber music and orchestral works, as well as lecturers and teachers.

It all began in 1989, when Jens Schliecker and Nils Rohwer were playing together in the Latin jazz band "Toccata". At the time, Nils Rohwer was awarded the national youth award "Jugend musiziert". Nils approached Jens, asking him to accompany him on the piano at the award presentation concert. The two musicians prepared three pieces for the concert. They met with unanticipated success and huge audience acclaim. "Piano meets Vibes" had been born.

In a period of intense dedication, the two men discovered their passion for the combination of piano and vibraphone/marimba. In the months that followed, they composed their first complete concert programme and put it on stage. Their casual approach to composing, not conforming to a particular label and relying entirely on the associative powers of their music, led to the creation of a unique and distinctive language of sound. The enthusiasm of their audiences and several first prizes at music competitions between 1990 and 1994 encouraged them to plan and record their first CD and to play at numerous concerts and festivals in the ensuing years, including the SHMF, Jazz Baltica, Berlinale and the Music Biennale Berlin.

Since then, the demand among colleagues and other enthusiasts has persuaded Piano meets Vibes to publish their pieces worldwide as sheet music. Meanwhile, Nils Rohwer finished his music degree at the Detmold College of Music, performing in concert exams, and set up the drumming school "Drums Unlimited". Jens Schliecker ended his career as a dental technician and embarked on a career as a freelance pianist, composer and piano teacher, with his own studio. Since then, the two musicians have been pursuing their careers together through concerts, CDs, live cinema concerts, film scores and contract compositions in many different genres.

In 2007 the two were awarded the first prize in composition by the Classical Marimba League (USA). In May 2009 they received the North German Cultural Prize (Scholarship Award) for their musical oeuvre. Following the CDs "Piano meets Vibes" (1994), "Duo Fantasie" (1996) and "Bilder einer Reise" (2000), the duo’s fourth CD "Morning Clouds" was released in 2009.

In this production, the two musicians were able to incorporate their experience in writing film scores and to considerably expand the musical range of their compositions.

Facts and Highlights

Radio and television performances on NDR 3, NDR 1, SAT 1, 3Sat
Since 1999: variety of different contract compositions for television and cinema
1994 - 2009 publication of the CDs "Piano meets Vibes", "Duo Fantasie", "Bilder einer Reise" and "Morning Clouds"
First prize at the Schleswig-Holstein Jazz Competition in 1990 / 91 / 93 / 94
Opening concert of the "Jazz Baltica" festival in 1994 and 2000
Concerts at the Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival in 1996 / 1999 / 2003
Concert at the Hamburg Jazz Festival (Fabrik) in 1996
Premier performance of the first orchestral work "Zyklus I – III" at Kiel Castle, April 1999
Two concerts at the BERLINALE 2001
Concert at the Music Biennale Berlin 2002 in the Berlin Concert Hall – cinema tours playing their own live music to the films Metropolis and Mikrokosmos (2001 - 2005)
2007 First prize at the international Composition Competition of the Classical Marimba League (USA)
2008 Honourable mention at the international Composition Competition of the Classical Marimba League (USA) and invitation to perform at the main programme of the biggest marimba festival of the world in Minneapolis (USA) in 2010.
2008 Concert and Master Class Workshop at the "Day of Percussion" held by PAS in the Frankfurt College of Music
2009 Awarded the North German Cultural Prize (Scholarship Award)

CV of Nils Rohwer

The drummer and composer Nils Rohwer has a degree in orchestral drums and percussion from the Detmold College of Music, with a concert performance exam. He has won several 1st prizes at the nationwide youth competition "Jugend musiziert", both in various percussion ensembles and as a soloist. He has been playing with Jens Schliecker for 20 years, as the successful duo "Piano meets Vibes".

In 1993 Nils Rohwer set up his own drumming school, which has brought forth several prize winners at the "Jugend musiziert" competition. Together with Jens Schliecker, Nils Rohwer is a successful co-composer of film scores. Nils Rohwer is employed by the State Musical Council of Schleswig-Holstein as a lecturer on popular music. He is the author of several successful text books on drums and percussion.

CV of Jens Schliecker

The pianist, composer and producer Jens Schliecker is self-taught and has been working as a musician for 28 years. For the past 15 years he has been running his own composition and production studio. Here he composes and produces film scores for television and cinema, music for audio books, orchestral music, ethnic and world music, advertising music and music in the fields of jazz, pop and chansons.

Together with the drummer Nils Rohwer, he has been playing in the duo "Piano meets Vibes" for 20 years on an international level and is also successful with him as a composer team. In addition, Jens Schliecker is a private piano teacher and is employed by the State Musical Council of Schleswig-Holstein as a freelance lecturer on popular music in the fields of composing, arrangements, rhythm and groove, and production.