The conductor and oratorio singer Gothart Stier received his first musical education as a member of the "Stadtsingechor Halle". In 1963, after studying church music at the Leipzig Conservatoire and intensive private singing tuition, he became choirmaster and organist at the Friedenskirche Leipzig. Under his direction, the Friedenskantorei was well known throughout the German Democratic Republic (DDR) for its great oratorio performances in the famous St Thomas Church in Leipzig.
In this same period, Gothart Stier was successful as an oratorio singer, appearing as a soloist in many foreign countries. Numerous recordings of works from Schütz to Schönberg and Theodorakis document Stier’s wide repertoire both as singer and as conductor.
For one year following the death of Karl Richter, he conducted the famous Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra. Through this successful work, he became well known in Western-Germany and worked in the following years as guest conductor with several German radio choirs.
In 1991, he was appointed the 27th Kreuzkantor in Dresden and conducted the famous Dresdner Kreuzchor until spring 1994. Successful concert tours took him with this choir to Israel, Canada and Spain. For his oratorio performances he worked together with the Philharmonic Orchestra Dresden and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Two CDs of sacred music document his work with this famous boys’ choir.
It was with great success that he appeared for the first time as guest conductor of the Monteverdi Choir of Hamburg at the Easter Music Festival in St Petersburg in May 1994 in place of the gravely ill Jürgen Jürgens. After Jürgens’ death in August 1994, he became the new director of music of the Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg.
From 1995 until 2010 he has also been director of music of the Robert-Franz-Singakademie Halle. In addition to his work with the Monteverdi-Choir and the Robert-Franz-Singakademie, he was director of music of the "Stadtsingechor zu Halle", one of the oldest German boys’ choirs, from 2003 until 2006.
From 1993 until 2004 Gothart Stier was a member of the board of the Neue Bachgesellschaft Leipzig.
For his successful work with the Montevedi-Choir he was awarded to the Biermann-Rathjen Medal by City of Hamburg in 2009.