Beat Martin Raaflaub (born 19 August 1946 in

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

) is a Swiss

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. He is the brother of

Kurt Raaflaub Kurt Arnold Raaflaub (15 February 1941 – 12 September 2023) was a Swiss historian and Emeritus Professor of Classics and History at Brown University, where he taught Greek and Roman history. He was the brother of conductor Beat Raaflaub. Life ...

, Professor of Classics and History at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. He grew up in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and studied German and history at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

where he graduated as a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

in modern

Swiss history Since 1848, the Swiss Confederation has been a federal republic of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of federation that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. The ear ...

in 1977. At the same time, he became a concert singer after having studied with Fritz Näf. Finally, the Basel Conservatory issued Raaflaub the diploma for "Teaching School Music" and "Choir Direction". In 1976 he was nominated

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the ''Jugendmusikschule Muttenz'' near Basel. Since 1979 he has managed two other

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s as a musical director, the ''Choir St. Arbogast

Muttenz Muttenz is a municipality with a population of approximately 17,000 in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It is located in the district of Arlesheim and next to the city of Basel. History Under the Roman Empire a hamlet called Montet ...

'' and the ''Chamber Choir

Bülach Bülach () is a historic town and a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Zürich. It is the administrative capital of Bülach district. It is situated in the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal'') to the east of the small river Glatt and ab ...

'' (''Kammerchor Zürcher Unterland''). He gives concerts with both choirs in all parts of Switzerland. In 1983 Raaflaub took over the musical direction of the Basel Boys Choir (''Knabenkantorei Basel''). Many recordings for radio and television were produced with his choirs. He gave concerts with his Boys Choir in Europe, in the United States, in South Africa and in Brazil. Several CD recordings were produced under his direction. Additionally, Raaflaub teaches young conductors at the "Music Academy Basel". He also presents regularly the radio show ''Sing mit'' at the Swiss ''Radio DRS''. Raaflaub is an important artistic counsellor of the European Youth Choir Festival.

External links

Family tree entry on the database of the Raaflaub familyEuropean Youth Choir Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raaflaub, Beat 1946 births Living people Swiss male conductors (music) Musicians from Basel-Stadt 21st-century Swiss conductors (music) 21st-century Swiss male musicians