Johannes Heuchemer studied composition under Karl Anschütz while attending the gymnasium in Koblenz. During this period, Anschütz, who had returned to Koblenz to direct the Institute of Music, counted Heuchemer among his pupils, providing him with formal instruction that shaped his early development as a composer.
At the time Heuchemer studied with him, Anschütz had recently succeeded his father in 1842 as head of the Institute of Music, an institution focused primarily on training church musicians, which added a distinct pedagogical context to Heuchemer’s formative studies.