Schürmann studied music, including voice, in his native Lower Saxony. By 1693, he was singing at the Oper am Gänsemarkt as a young alto. In 1694 he composed a cantata for the inauguration of the Castle Salzdahlum in Wolfenbüttel. In 1697, he went to Lüneburg (about 50 km southeast of Hamburg) for a guest performance. His singing there so impressed Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that the Duke hired him on the spot. From 1702 to 1707 he was principal conductor and composer for the Meiningen Court Orchestra. In 1707 Schürmann officially succeeded Reinhard Keiser as Cammer-Componist (court composer). He served the court of Brunswick, with but a few brief interruptions, for 54 years until he died at the age of 79.
Work
Schürmann wrote over thirty operas, many of which have not survived. His music was characterized by harmonic richness, careful contrapuntal elaboration, flexible handling of form and theatrically effective delineation of characters. Among his operas were:
