Since 2022, Martin Lehmann has been the 29th Kreuzkantor of the Dresden Kreuzchor and, in this role, Artistic Director of the oldest cultural institution in the Saxon capital. His tenure as Kreuzkantor combines tradition with innovation; his repertoire spans a wide range, from a cappella choral music and choral-symphonic works to world premieres and first performances of contemporary music. A key focus of his first seasons as Kreuzkantor is on works by previous Kreuzkantors who were also successful as composers. By awarding regular commissions for the composition of introits, he is continuously expanding the Kreuzchor’s repertoire of vespers.
From 2001 to 2005, Martin Lehmann was Director of the Schola Cantorum Leipzig girls’ choir, after which he moved to become Musical Director of the boys' choir Wuppertaler Kurrende. In 2012, he took over as Artistic Director of the renowned Windsbach Boys’ Choir. Under his ten-year leadership, the boys’ choir made regular guest appearances at major international festivals and in prominent concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Tonhalle in Zurich. In 2017, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria recognised his services by appointing him Director of Church Music.
Martin Lehmann has already collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra and the WDR Big Band; in the field of historical performance practice, he has also worked with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. An extensive discography documents his wide-ranging work. Most recently, in April 2025, Poulenc’s "Gloria" and Schubert’s Mass in A-flat major with the Dresden Kreuzchor and the Dresden Philharmonic on Berlin Classics; and in May 2025, a live recording of the world premiere of Sven Helbig’s "Requiem A" with René Pape, the Dresden Kreuzchor and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden on Deutsche Grammophon.
Born in Malchin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in 1973 and later growing up in Dresden, Martin Lehmann began his musical training in the Dresden Kreuzchor. After studying choral conducting at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden under Hans-Christoph Rademann – during which time he gained formative experience as Rademann’s artistic assistant with the Dresden Chamber Choir – he founded the cantamus Dresden chamber choir.