Erich Schmid was a Swiss composer and conductor. He was born on 1 January 1907 in Balsthal, Switzerland and died on 17 December 2000 in Zürich. He studied composition with Bernhard Sekles at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt and later with Arnold Schoenberg. Among many other international conducting roles, he was chief conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra, Zürich from 1949 to 1957.