Born in 1961, Urs Wiesner graduated from the Swiss Jazz School Bern (piano) and the Basel University of Music (percussion). After studying with Ruud Wiener, the vibraphone became his main instrument.
Urs Wiesner is a lecturer for vibraphone, ensemble and music theory at the Jazzcampus of the Musikakademie Basel and the Musikschule Basel, Jazz. He has also taught at the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich (MKZ) and at the Gymnasium Liestal.
Urs Wiesner's love of ethnic music and percussion opened his ears and broadened his understanding of numerous worlds of sound and rhythm. His passion for "interwoven" music grew with the Balinese xylophone Rangtang and his understanding of jazz and African rhythms with Nana Twum Nketia. In 1995, he won first prize at a competition in Seoul with the Swiss-Korean ensemble "Dasotsori".
His commissioned compositions for the Contrapunkt Choir and for the Arte Saxophone Quartet were premiered in 1999. Mallet compositions are also available on Rawi Percussion Publications.
Wiesner's collaborations range from groups such as Hati-Hati (Balinese Bamboo-music), Steinaltisten, Delydious and the Trio Perfido to Don Moye, Isla Eckinger, Clark Terry, Lisa Sokolov, Reinhard Flatischler, Kim Dong Wong, Hans Feigenwinter, Tibor Elekes, Philipp Mall, Loris Peloso, Andreas Gerber, Thomas Weiss, Rätus Fliesch, Günter Wehinger, Peter Perfido, André Buser and Bob Degen.
He has played at festivals worldwide and was a jury member at the International Italy Percussion Competition (PAS) in Pescara in 2014.