Gérard Zinsstag was born 9 May 1941 in Geneva, where he grew up and began studying music (Calvin College and the Geneva Conservatory). He went on to study at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) from 1961 to 1963, and then at the Accademia Chigiana in Sienna.

From 1964 to 1967, he lived in Rome, performing throughout Europe as a flautist. In 1967, he joined the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zürich where he remained until 1975, at which time he resigned in order to dedicate himself fully to composition.

Zinsstag studied with Hans-Ulrich Lehmann at the Zürich Conservatory (1973-75), and with Helmut Lachenmann in Stuttgart and Hanover. He attended the Darmstadt Summer Courses in 1976 and 1978, before spending a year in the United States in 1979. He was awarded a DAAD Fellowship, allowing him to live in Berlin (1981-82), and in 1982 he participated in the IRCAM Cursus (IRCAM’s composition and computer music course).

Gérard Zinsstag was the director of the Tage für neue Musik festival in Zürich from the festival’s foundation in 1986 until 1994.

He has participated in numerous seminars and given lectures around the world (Berkeley, Paris, Moscow, Zürich, Taipei).