Timo Jouko Herrmann, born in 1978 in Heidelberg (Germany), studied composition with Ulrich Leyendecker and musicology with Hermann Jung at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim (Germany). During his studies, he received further influence from composers like Hermann Schäfer, Krzysztof Meyer, Detlev Glanert, Roberto Doati and Wladimir Sagorzew. Herrmann holds a PhD awarded for his thesis on Antonio Salieri and his German language stage works. His rediscovery of the lost song of joy "Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia" K. 477a by Salieri, Mozart and Cornetti in late 2015 brought him world-wide attention. On the occasion of the Spanish premiere of this work on September 1st, 2016, Herrmann was honoured by the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the main portal of the monastery of St. Joaquín and Sta. Ana in Valladolid. He was also appointed honorary member of the Asociación Cultural Antonio Salieri in 2016.
Among others, Herrmann created works for the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the armonia wind ensemble Leipzig, the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra as well as the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra. Besides, he got commissions from festivals like the Heidelberg Biennale for Contemporary Music, the SYLTARTFESTIVAL or the concert series for contemporary music "kontrapunkte" in Speyer. His opera "Hamlet - Sein oder Nichtsein", which was commissioned by the Opera House in Dortmund, has been premiered in February 2017. Herrmann's compositions are published by Verlag Neue Musik Berlin and by Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag Leipzig.
Awards include the composition prize of SAP SE and the city of Walldorf, the Gebrüder-Graun-Preis, the 1st prize in the composition competition of the University of Music in Mannheim, and the 2nd prize in the composition competition of the Goethe Institute Mannheim-Heidelberg. Scholarships have been awarded by the Wilhelm-Müller-Stiftung, the Händel Akademie Karlsruhe and the Yehudi Menuhin association "Live Music Now" (LMN). His poem "Andraitx – Pomegranate Flowers" for baritone, string quartet, double bass and piano was commended during the final of the international composition competition "Soli fan tutti" at Hessisches Staatstheater Darmstadt and released on CD afterwards. In 2010, Herrmann’s concept of a CD containing works by Salieri was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2020 and 2021 each of his CDs "Salieri – strictly private" and "Salieri and Beethoven in dialogue" was nominated for three OPUS KLASSIK awards.
Beside his profession as a composer, Herrmann is also performing as a violinist and a conductor. He is regularly working together with notable soloists and ensembles like the pianist Martin Stadtfeld, the bass-baritone Falk Struckmann, the Mannheim Mozart Orchestra and the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra as well as the Sinfonietta Leipzig.