Reinhold Nowotny - conductor born 1965 in Vienna, youngest generation of a familiy of musicians. (Great-grandfather Kaspar Schnaufer and his brother Michael played clarinet and conducted a windband in Kernei, Batschka.) In the seventies he learned to play the electric organ. Since 1977 he took lessons on the clarinet and the saxophone, finally with Prof. Wilfried Gottwald, member of the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra. After graduation from high-school, he studied musicology at the University of Vienna. He spent his military service at the Band of the Vienna Guards and started to give instrumental lessons. At the age of thirteen he played in his first windband, the "Trachtenkapelle Alpenklang - Wiener Blasorchester", where he became conductor in 1993 after the death of Paul Kyselka. 1989 to 1997 he was teacher at the music school of the city of Poysdorf, Lower Austria. In addition he served as school director as well as bandmaster of the "Musikverein Poysdorf und Umgebung". In 1997 he moved back to Vienna where he is playing in various bands and ensembles. He is member of the cabaret group Scherzinfarkt. Since December 1999 he is conductor of the world famous band Hoch- und Deutschmeister. At the same time Mag. Kurt Schmid asked him to follow him as conductor of the Vienna Clarinet Choir. After a short time of hesitation, he took over the musical direction of the ensemble, which is a difficult, but at the same time splendid and honorable task.