Carl Orff was born on 10 July 1895 in Munich. He received his first piano tuition at the early age of five, and subsequently also cello and organ lessons. Evidence shows that he regularly attended the theatre and opera from 1903 onwards. In 1911, his first work was published: the lied “Eiland, ein Sang vom Chiemsee”, although Orff up to this point had not yet begun systematic courses in music theory. From 1912 to 1914, he studied composition with Anton Beer-Walbrunn at the Munich Akademie der Tonkunst and from 1915 piano with Hermann Zilcher. In 1915, Orff was able to gather initial practical experience in the theatre, worked as repetiteur and one year later was appointed as kapellmeister of the Munich Chamber Theatre. Following a brief period of military service, he was appointed as kapellmeister assisting Wilhelm Furtwängler at the National Theatre in Mannheim and the Landestheater Darmstadt. He received further training in composition from Heinrich Kaminski and undertook an extensive study of Bach, Buxtehude, Pachelbel and particularly Monteverdi. A co-founder of the “Günther School” for gymnastics, music and dance in Munich (1924), Orff became the director of the department for dance and musical education. This was for Orff an ideal experimental educational field for the development of the “Orff Schulwerk” (1930-1934/1950-1954) which was distributed with great success worldwide and continues today to be utilised within the areas of social and therapeutic education. In 1936, Orff received the commission to compose a part of the processional music for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. From 1950 to 1960, he held master classes for composition at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Munich. From 1955, he was resident in Dießen on Lake Ammer and died on 29 March 1982 in Munich.

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