Bertold Hummel was born on 27 November 1925 in Hüfingen. From 1947 to 1954 he studied composition with Harald Genzmer and Cello with Atis Teichmanis in Freiburg. He worked as a cantor in the St. Konrad Church of Freiburg from 1956 to 1963. In 1963, he was appointed composition teacher to the Music Institute in Würzburg (which was then called State Conservatory), where he conducted the Studio for New Music until 1988. Hummel was offered a professorship in 1974 and from 1979 to 1987 he was president of the Würzburg Music Institute. In that period of time, he created the "Würzburger Tage für Neue Musik".

His most important works include the 3^rd Symphony "Jeremia", op. 100, the Visionen for full orchestra and the Konzert für Schlagzeug und Orchestra (Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra).

For his œuvre which contains more than 200 works of all genres, Hummel received much recognition. In 1960, for instance, he was awarded the composition prize of the city of Stuttgart, the Robert Schumann Prize of the city of Düsseldorf in 1961 and the Kulturpreis of the city of Würzburg in 1988. In 1985, Hummel was presented the "Bruno-Medal" by the bishop of Würzburg Paul Werner Scheele for his merits in church music; in 1995 he received the Orlando-di-Lasso-Medal" of the Allgemeine Cäcilien-Verband (ACV) and the Kulturpreis of the German Catholics in 1998. The Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts (Bayrische Akademie der Schönen Künste) appointed him to a membership in 1982.

Hummel died on 9 August 2002 in Würzburg.

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