Josef Ulsamer was a German musician specializing in historical performance practice as a gambist and ensemble leader. He initially studied cello but later focused on the viola da gamba. In 1955, he founded the Nuremberg Viola da Gamba Collegium, later renamed the Ulsamer Collegium. From 1948 to 1966, Ulsamer worked as a music editor at Bavarian Radio in Nuremberg, co-founding the program "Musikalisches Tafelkonfekt" and also establishing and heading the Folk Music Department there. In 1967, he was appointed to the Würzburg University of Music, where he led the Department of Historical Instruments and Viola da Gamba. Ulsamer gained international recognition through numerous concerts and recordings across Europe, Africa, South and North America, and Japan, and was also noted for his work with contemporary composers writing for historical instruments. He received several awards, including the Edison Prize in 1968 and the Federal Cross of Merit in 1985. Ulsamer died on December 15, 2008, in Würzburg.
