Ernst Münch was an Alsatian

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

 and choir

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

.

Münch taught organ at the Strasbourg Conservatory where his pupils included Joseph Müller-Blattau, Heinrich Boell

Heinrich Boell

Heinrich Boell was a German organist and choir conductor.-References:...

, and Adolf Hamm. For many years he was the organist/choirmaster at Saint William's Church, Strasbourg

Saint William's Church, Strasbourg

Saint William's Church is a gothic church presently of the Lutheran branch of Christianity located in Strasbourg, France...

. There he founded the Wilhelmer Choir. which under his leadership became highly known for their performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

.

Münch was the brother of conductor Eugen Münch and uncle of conductor and composer Hans Münch

Hans Münch (conductor)

Hans Münch was a Swiss conductor, composer, cellist, pianist, organist, and music educator of Alsatian birth. His compositional output includes one symphony , a Sympbonische Improvisationen , and a number of cantatas.-Life and career:Born into a family of musicians in Mulhouse, France, Münch was...

. His son Charles Munch was a famous symphonic conductor and violinist who had a long association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Boston Symphony Orchestra

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...

. His daughter Emma married Paul Schweitzer, Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...

's brother. His son Fritz Münch

Fritz Münch

Fritz Münch was a French musicologist and conductor. Born in Strasbourg, he was the son of organist and conductor Ernst Münch, the brother of renowned conductor Charles Munch, and the cousin of conductor Hans Münch. He began his studies at the Strasbourg Conservatory and then pursued further...

 succeeded him as conductor of the Wilhelmer Choir and was director of the Strasbourg Conservatory for several years.

Sources

• Albert Schweitzer:Memories of Ernst Münch(1945). In: Essays on Music, ed. Stefan Hanheide, Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel and Basel, 1988, ISBN 3761809204, p. 185-194.