Elmar Slama was born in Passau, Bavaria in 1967. At six he began taking piano lessons from his grandfather, organist and composer Heinrich Wimmer, later by Elisabeth Rehaber in Passau and Erich Appel at the Meistersinger Conservatory in Nuremberg. The following teachers seemed to have left the “who is who” page for renowned pianists in Europe: Christoph Lieske, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Siegfried Mauser, Gerhard Oppitz and Elisabeth Leonskaia. After graduating from high school in Passau, he enrolled in the course of studies for solo piano and piano teaching at the famous Mozarteum in Salzburg where in 1995 he earned the title of “Magister Artium” with honors. In the same year Elmar Slama founded the Collegium Max Reger, a private piano institute in Southern Bavaria, from which numerous prize winners have since emerged. At the same time he regularly teaches at the Salzburger Musikschulwerk in Zell am See and at the Freudenhain music high school in Passau, where he still follows his own piano class. Elmar Slama is regularly invited to hold piano interpretation courses (Meisterkurse) in Italy and Japan. In addition to his intense teaching activity, he is often a guest on European and Japanese stages both as a soloist and in a chamber orchestra. Elmar Slama has recorded 3 CDs with works by Reger (first recording of the 7 characteristic pieces), Brahms, Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann und Mussorgsky. Further engravings are planned. In Passau Elmar Slama is deputy director of the Festival of European Weeks, the Europäische Wochen and member of the executive committee of the Music Festival for young talents Europäisches Jugend Musikfestival. For more information www.elmarslama.de