Johann Gottfried Walther
Walther was born in Erfurt. His mother was a relative of the Bach family. He started receiving private lessons when he was four years old. In 1691, he went to school in Erfurt. He started learning to play the organ with Johann Bernhard Bach and Johann Andreas Kretschmar. He was taught singing by Jakob Adlung. In 1697, he went to study at the Rathsgymnasium. In 1702, he became the organist at the Thomaskirche in Erfurt.