I love inspiring people, streamlining processes, and explaining things so they actually make sense.

I was born in 1974 in Bremen, Germany.

In high school I spent a year as an exchange student in Canada (Manitoulin Secondary School on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Ontario) — a formative time for both my English and my outlook on life. Huge thanks to everyone who made that possible!

After graduation I completed civilian service with the Malteser relief organization, working in transport for people with disabilities and teaching first aid.

Then I studied classical composition at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.

I spent many years as a freelance musician and gospel choir director.

I’ve written a few books:

• Handbuch der Gospelchorleitung
• do, re, mi... – was ist das?
• Die Schullz-Methode — a practical route to understanding music and sight-singing.

I also create video tutorials — for example on relative solmisation.

Since 2019 I’ve been teaching music at the Leibniz Comprehensive School in Duisburg-Hamborn.

I’m married, a father of four, and live with my family in Duisburg, Germany.

Since 2009 I’ve been setting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to music in my project Sing Human Rights.

I’m two meters tall — people tend to notice.

I’m a giftedness advocate and a member of Mensa in Deutschland e.V..

Sing Human Rights lets human rights be heard: since 2009 I’ve been setting the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to music — free to use for choirs, schools, and stages.

🌐 https://www.sing-human-rights.org

🎵 sheet music & mp3 overview

🎻 the choral-symphonic version: “Everyone – A Choral Symphony for Peace”

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I love teaching — and I love explaining.
For me, good teaching means more than passing on knowledge. It’s about helping people really get it — that wonderful “ah-ha” moment when everything finally makes sense.

Music can be heard, of course — but it’s not always easy to see or grasp.
You can hear an interval, but that doesn’t mean you understand what makes it tick.
You can play a scale on an instrument, but truly understanding how it works — that’s another story.

That’s where my learning materials come in.
They turn the invisible into something you can actually work with — something you can see, feel, and finally understand.
They’re designed to make musical ideas clearer and more tangible, no matter what instrument (or voice!) you use.
Especially for singers, who rely mostly on their ears, these tools help to recognize structures, see intervals, and follow melodies in a physical, intuitive way.

All of this grew out of real classroom experience — from teaching music theory and ear training at the Landesmusikakademie NRW and the Folkwang University of the Arts, and from my daily life as a music teacher at the Leibniz Comprehensive School in Duisburg-Hamborn.

Over the years I’ve seen where learners struggle to make sense of music —
and I’ve tried to create tools that connect the head, the eyes, and the hands (and sometimes even the feet!).

“I would have understood so much more — if only someone had explained it properly.”

That thought has guided my teaching ever since.

Out of that mindset, I’ve developed a range of materials and video tutorials — all designed to show that music isn’t just something you play. It’s something you can understand.

• 🎥 YouTube Tutorials on Relative Solmisation
• 🌟 The Learning Star
• 🧩 Interval Puzzle
• 🎲 Key Dice
• 🎼 Floor Staff Mat

As a composer, I look for music that makes sense when sung — rich in sound, yet practical to perform. My pieces are meant to sound sophisticated while feeling natural. Every voice deserves its own beautiful line, one that’s rewarding to sing. Complexity, to me, doesn’t come from difficulty but from vitality: voices intertwining, touching, breathing together. That’s how music arises that connects people — something you don’t just hear, but truly experience.

All my compositions and arrangements grow out of real-life choir practice. I write for real singers with real voices — for people who sing with joy. My sheet music is published through the GNGP-Verlag, where I release and engrave my own songbooks, CDs, and individual scores (formerly with Sibelius, now with Dorico).

🎶 Visit the GNGP-Verlag – Songbooks, CDs, and individual editions

How it all started: As a teenager, I sang with TenSing at the YMCA Bremen — that’s where I first had the chance to lead a choir and write my own songs. One of them even won third prize at the 1992 competition “Students Compose” run by the Sparkasse Bremen.

Later I studied classical composition with Prof. Nic. A. Huber at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. Together with pianist Christian Nagel, I founded the Good News Gospel Project in 1999 — a choir project that toured every autumn. For this project choir and many others I’ve written countless songs and arrangements, always focused on what singers truly need: comfortable ranges, flowing lines, and the joy of sound.

My Gospel Mass, composed for the Gospel Choir Kettwig, follows the same idea — polyphonic, full of color, and yet singable.

“If you make copies, please donate €1 per song copy to the composer.”

A small but honest way to value the work behind the music.

Sheet music and rehearsal tracks for some of my songs:

https://schullz.de/noten

I love inspiring people. As a choir director and workshop leader, my goal is to make music that moves — where sound and words come together to become something greater than the sum of their parts. We sing together, we learn together, and in the end, there’s that special moment when everyone feels it: That was our sound.

What matters to me

• Inspiration & Confidence: Every voice counts — even when things don’t click right away. I arrange singers so that less confident voices are supported by stronger ones. Those who need extra backing stand up front, where the sound can carry them.
• Clarity & Groove: We work on breathing together, articulation, and timing — until it really grooves. It’s all about musical focus and shared energy.
• Joy in Singing: Warm-ups, small choreography impulses, comfortable ranges, and flowing lines — because music should feel good in the body as well as in the heart.

Workshops & Booking

You can book me for choir workshops — featuring my own songs (easy to medium level, concert-ready within a weekend) or, by arrangement, with your own repertoire.

• Weekend Format: Friday evening start · Saturday rehearsals · Sunday fine-tuning & concert
• Compact Day: Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. rehearsals · 5 p.m. short concert
• Custom Options: tailored for church choirs, choir associations, school or project choirs

I’m currently often invited for “Sing Human Rights” workshops (songs about human rights, including a final concert). I also enjoy working with my own repertoire — proven material that’s fun to sing and performance-ready within one weekend.

Request a workshop (email)

Regular Choir

I conduct the choir CantO — meeting once a month on Thursday evenings at the Pauluskirche Oberhausen-Lirich.
Repertoire: Gospel, Pop & Human Rights.

Get in touch to find out about the next rehearsal dates.

Contact & Booking

Axel Chr. Schullz
Winningstr. 40
D-47167 Duisburg, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)203-71 85 613
Fax: +49 (0)203-71 85 614
Email: acs(at)schullz.de