VITA
„Outstandingly dynamic, virtuosic, elegant and enchanting like a magician of sound“
— Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Artist biography
Sebastian Wielandt won the 1st Prize with distinction at the IV International Marimba Competition in Nuremberg at the age of 17.
In 2023, he was accepted as a scholarship holder into the "Concert Promotion Program" of the German Music Competition and won the "Contemporary Music Award" as the gold medalist in the Percussion category at the International Music Competition Vienna.
„Sebastian Wielandt impresses on the marimba with the sensitively and carefully arranged fugue from Johann Sebastian Bach's Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor.“
— Badische Zeitung
The modern percussion soloist Sebastian Wielandt is considered a prodigy and is celebrated by critics and media for his exceptional artistic versatility, technical virtuosity, and impressive stage presence. With a versatile array of instruments, which includes traditional multipercussion, body percussion, and beatboxing, he creates unique crossover experiences. In his children's concerts, workshops, and classical programs, he consistently captivates his audience, earning standing ovations.
At the age of 13, Sebastian Wielandt became a junior student at the Karlsruhe University of Music under Prof. Isao Nakamura and, at 16, accompanied him on a concert tour through Japan. His further artistic development took place at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, where he studied with renowned professors Bogdan Bacanu, Christoph Sietzen, and Leonhard Schmidinger, completing his studies with distinction.
„A young musician hits the drums in Stuttgart.”
— Stuttgarter Zeitung
Since 2014, he has regularly substituted with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz and was employed as a percussionist with a fixed-term contract for the 2022/2023 season. He has also received invitations from the WDR Symphony Orchestra and performed as the solo timpanist with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Since 2024, he has been the solo timpanist with the "Limitless Orchestra," whose arrangements are by Alexey Igudesman. In 2025, he will perform in prestigious concert halls such as the Konzerthaus Vienna, Tonhalle Zurich, and the Dubai Opera, with Hans Zimmer as the patron of the project.
Wielandt is a regular guest at renowned festivals such as the "Brucknerfest Linz," "Wien Modern," and "Dialoge" of the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg. In 2023, he performed the world premiere of his commissioned work for WDR solo percussionist Johannes Steinbauer at the Beethovenfest Bonn. He has also presented world premieres of works by composers such as Sarah Nemtsov, Georg Friedrich Haas, and Philip Glass. His performances have been broadcast on various radio stations, including BR Klassik, WDR3, SWR2, ORF, Japan, and Dubai National TV. A documentary about the "Limitless Orchestra" will soon be aired on ARTE, and in 2026, his solo CD featuring commissioned works for Marimba and Beatbox, composed by Johannes Berauer, will be released.
„Simply magnificent. Almost 500 enthusiastic listeners celebrate the first performance with a standing ovation, a remarkable debut that will hopefully be followed by many more performances.“
— Offenburger Tageblatt
With his ensemble "Visual Sound“, Sebastian Wielandt creates futuristic visual live performances that uniquely blend sound, movement, and digital art. In 2023, he performed as the "Opening Act" for the live show "Sabo|Tage" at the Brucknerhaus Linz, reaching millions of viewers worldwide through the streaming broadcast.
2025 he presented the world premiere of the famous work "Rebonds" by Iannis Xenakis in a multi-sensory experience that combined dance and electronic visuals at the "Deep Space" ARS Electronica Linz. This groundbreaking performance practice pushes the traditional boundaries of concert formats by merging powerful percussion with innovative digital art forms. The result is a captivating symbiosis of sound, movement, and visual art that transports the audience to a completely new dimension of music and performance art.
As a sought-after chamber music partner, he has performed with Martin Grubinger in the Ensemble Percussive Planet, as well as with the Wave Quartet and Motus Percussion Linz. He contributed to the Wave Quartet's CD "Bach Concertos" for Sony Classical and recorded percussion works for the "Jugend Komponiert" program of Jeunesses Musicales Germany in 2022. He has also served as a lecturer at the "Kinderuni Oberösterreich" and, since 2025, has been leading the "Percussion Chamber Music Academy" of Jeunesses Musicales Germany.
With his extraordinary musicality, innovative spirit, and diverse body of work, Sebastian Wielandt is setting new standards in the world of percussion, fascinating both audiences and critics alike.