UNION CHURCH

Lothar Bandermann

Our resident composer, Lothar Bandermann, was born in Germany and grew up as one of seven children in a coal miner's family in the years during and following World War II. After finishing high school(there called "Gymnasium") and one year of university, he emigrated to the "land of unlimited opportunity:" America; first to Canada in 1958, where he worked as a medical research lab technician. From Canada he emigrated to the United States in 1960. Here he completed the major part of his academic education, earning a B.A. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley, and later a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. He then spent ten years at the University of Hawaii doing research in astronomy and teaching physics. While in Hawaii Lothar met and married Billie Bandermann, our Director of Music at Union Church. They moved in 1978 with their growing family -- two children at the time, with a third on the way -- to the San Francisco Bay Area where Lothar secured a position as a scientist at Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center where he continues to work on challenging projects such as an orbiting telescope for finding planets around other stars.

Lothar has played the organ since he was a teenager. The first organ he played was foot-pumped by assistants -- kind volunteers from the congregation. Since organist and pumper could not see one another, being on opposite sides of a huge organ case, there was a certain lack of communication between the two. As a result there were many occasions when the pumping was not vigorous enough, so the organ would "waver and wail." At other times the pumper would doze off or be chatting with a friend -- the organ was back in the choir loft where there were worshipers as well -- so consequently, and embarrasingly, no sound would come out when an organ response was required.

Many interesting memories come to Lothar's mind when he thinks back to those early days as an organist. For example, since in those days churches were always full, many of the men would stand in the back of the church rather than sit in the pews. Some of these men would take the opportunity at the beginning of the sermon to "sneak out to enjoy a Sunday morning beer and discuss politics or retirement benefits."

Lothar has composed music since he was a teenager, mostly for use in church: sacred songs, choir anthems on old and new texts for various mixed voices (SATB, SAB, men/women, SSA) and, of course, organ music. He has compiled a contemporary songbook as a supplement to our hymnal and for use in the Sunday worship service.

Visit the Website of Lothar's latest publisher and publication,

Cantus Quercus Press
(click on Bandermann Catalog in the left navbar).

E-Mail us: Union Church Composer. Union Church Home