Frits Schuurman
Frits Schuurman (1898-1972) was a Dutch-born conductor.
Contents
Biography
Frits Schuurman was born on 25 June 1898 in Nijmegen, Holland. He studied piano, horn and composition and conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Composition was under the guidance of Hendrik Andriessen, and conducting under Sem Dresden. On completion of his studies in 1921, he continued studying counterpoint and composition for another year under Albert Roussel in Paris. For several years he played the horn in a number of French orchestras. In 1931 he was appointed as conductor of the Haarlem Municipal Orchestra, where he remained for seven years. Between 1938 and 1945 he was the conductor of the Residentie-Orkest in The Hague.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
In January 1949, Schuurman was appointed as principal conductor of the Johannesburg City Orchestra with Gideon Fagan as second conductor. In 1952, Schuurman was engaged as guest conductor for the Van Riebeeck Festival,and was appointed as lecturer at the SACM and conductor of the UCT Orchestra. In December 1953, the Orchestra and Entertainments Committee decided to engage Schuurman to conduct the CTMO for January and March 1954. Schuurman also conducted between August and October 1954 and made other guest appearances thereafter. In June 1955, Schuurman and his wife, the celebrated violinist Maria Neuss, left for Durban where he succeeded Edward Dunn as musical director of the Durban Civic Orchestra.
Operas conducted by Frits Schuurman include:
1957: Madama Butterfly for National Opera Association
Awards
In 1965 the University of Natal bestowed an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy on Schuurman.
Sources
Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow[1]. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.[2]
Sjoerd Alkema. 2012. "Conductors of the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, 1914-1965: a historical perspective". University of Cape Town. Unpublished PhD thesis.
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