Ferdinand Zellbell the Younger

Ferdinand Zellbell the Younger (171921 April 1780) was a Swedish composer and a founding member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He was organist at Storkyrkan, the main church of Stockholm, and chief conductor at Kungliga Hovkapellet (the Royal Court Orchestra). Arguably his most accomplished composition is an opera, Il Giudizio d’Aminta, written on the occasion of the birthday of future Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. Biography Ferdinand Zellbell the Younger was born in Stockholm. He was the son of , who was also a musician and a composer. He was taught music by his father but also studied for Johan Helmich Roman. He spent the years between 1739 and 1741 with further studies in Lower Saxony; his teachers there included Georg Philipp Telemann. He started working as a substitute for his father as an organist in Storkyrkan, the main church of Stockholm, and from 1753 was permanently employed there. His father also helped him secure a position as a musician at the royal court, and he eventually rose to the position of chief conductor at Kungliga Hovkapellet and concertmaster, but this work was largely without a salary. Only from 1758 did he receive payment for his service