Hilmar Schweizer, of German origin, began playing the cello at the age of 11. He studied with Marcio Carneiro in Detmold. He continued his studies in master classes given by A. Noras, D. Shafran, S. Palm, H. Shapiro, Z. Nelsova and H. Schiff.

As substitute soloist of the Detmold Chamber Orchestra, he also plays in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra under M. Rostropovitch and in the Gustav Mahler Orchestra with Claudio Abbado.

He joined the OSR in 1998 and has been a substitute soloist since 2001.

As a member of various chamber music ensembles, Hilmar Schweizer takes part in concerts and recordings in Europe, the USA, Korea and Japan.

Since 2021, Hilmar Schweizer has been a member of the "Richard Wagner Festival Orchestra" in Bayreuth.