Renowned for his fine musicianship, Thomas Flessenkaemper is widely respected as a classical composer, organist and pianist. The former Director of Music at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Gibraltar, regularly performs recitals as a soloist and accompanist in Germany, the UK and China. In addition, he has been able to pass on his enthusiasm for classical music, devoting himself to the music education of the next generation. In 2022 Flessenkaemper founded the Amy Woodforde-Finden Music Festival in Hampsthwaite and set new impulses into the world of music as its artistic director.
Thomas is frequently invited to perform at festivals or be on a panel at international competitions such as the Irmler Piano Competition and the Franz Schubert Competition in China. He also gives masterclasses and has appeared as a conductor with amateur orchestras and choirs, such as the Beijing Youth Orchestra and the Friends of the Vienna Boys Choir (the Chinese counterpart of the Wiener Sängerknaben).
An early fondness for the Russian piano music of the 'fin de siècle' has been reflected in his repertoire. In particular, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Medtner should be mentioned here. This interest runs as a central theme through Liszt, Chopin, Hummel and returns to Bach. However, the organ music in his repertoire is no less important. Thus Flessenkaemper regularly performs virtuoso works from the piano and orchestral literature, which he arranges for the organ. Another preference of his repertoire is dedicated to demanding piano music for four hands (piano duets), which he regularly performs with different piano partners.
He holds degrees from the conservatoires of music in Frankfurt a. M. and Karlsruhe. In the course of his PhD thesis, Thomas dealt intensively with the historical piano performance of the 19th century. He was appointed organist and director of music in Reinhardshagen while still a student. Thomas successfully shortened his studies and graduated early with distinction. After leaving his alma mater, his talent was recognised by his subsequent appointment as a lecturer for piano and accompaniment at the Xinghai Conservatoire of Music in Guangzhou, China. This was followed by a change of scene when he was appointed organist and director of music at the well-known pilgrimage church St Lamberti in Coesfeld, Germany.
Thomas' compositional career embraces large and small choral works - instrumental and chamber music. German music publisher Verlag Singende Gemeinde has recorded and released some of his choral works. But Thomas' attention is also repeatedly directed towards instruments that have fallen into oblivion, such as the harpsichord and the chromatic harp of the French harp manufacturer Pleyel, whose unique possibilities resulted in a series of compositions for this exceptional harp.
After winning the first prize at the Jugend Musiziert competition (a country-wide competition for young musicians in Germany), Thomas became acquainted with the organ and absorbed everything with active curiosity. He then continued to study piano, singing, harpsichord and also conducting.