Roelof Temmingh
Roelof Temmingh refers to two people:
Roelof Temmingh senior - musician.
His son, Roelof Temmingh (1946-2012) - composer.
Contents
TEMMINGH, Roelof (1913-?). Musician and composer.
Biography
Temmingh, born in Gorinchem in the Netherlands in 1913, was a music teacher and organist. In February 1958, the Temmingh family immigrated to South Africa and settled in Griekwastad, in the Cape Province. They moved to Klerksdorp in the Transvaal Province. They remained there for only one year, after which the family relocated to Bellville, a suburb of Cape Town
Father of composer and academic Henk Temmingh, conductor Lykele Temmingh and composer and academic Roelof Temmingh.
Career
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
He composed the operettas, Die Nagtegaal (1964) and En Jy Ly Skade Aan Jou Siel (1965).
TEMMINGH, Roelof (1946-2012). Netherlands-born, South African composer of mostly classical music.
Biography
Temmingh, born in Amsterdam on 28 September 1946, was the third of four children. Both of his parents, Roelof Willem Temmingh Sr. and Susanna De Jongh were musical.
Brother of composer and academic Henk Temmingh and conductor Lykele Temmingh. Their younger sister Jenny Temmingh was a music teacher.
In February 1958, the Temmingh family immigrated to South Africa, first settling in Griekwastad, in the Cape Province. They remained there for only one year, after which the family relocated to Bellville, a suburb of Cape Town where Roelof attended High School D.F. Malan.
Training
In 1965, Temmingh enrolled at the University of Cape Town for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in language studies. His intention was to continue on to a Bachelor of Theology degree after completing the BA degree. However, after an interview with Professor Gunter Pulvermacher, then head of the College of Music at the University of Cape Town, and composition professor Gideon Fagan, Temmingh was admitted to the third year of the Bachelor of Music degree. By then, music had become his main interest, and he continued with his music studies in the following year. Temmingh studied the organ with Barry Smith and composition with Gideon Fagan. At the end of 1969, Temmingh was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in language studies. He was awarded a Master of Music degree in composition at the end of 1970. Temmingh pursued a PhD in musicology while lecturing full time at the University of Stellenbosch, obtaining it in 1976. Temmingh’s other studies involved computer music studies for a period of 6 months (1979) at the Institute for Sound (University of Utrecht, Netherlands).
Career
In 1971 he was appointed lecturer in music at the University of South Africa (UNISA). His time at UNISA was short lived, however, and in 1972 he left for a position as lecturer in music at the department of music at the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), now known as Nelson Mandela University (NMU).
He was appointed lecturer in composition and musicology in the Music Department at Stellenbosch University from 1973 and appointed Associate Professor in 1992. He retired in 2005. Temmingh dedicated his life to teaching composition in South Africa. Some of his more known students are Anton Els, Hans Huyssen and Bongani Ndodana-Breen.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
Temmingh wrote prolifically for choir, orchestra, small ensemble, voice, and opera. Temmingh composed over 130 works.
He composed the following operas (with Michael Williams as librettist):
- Enoch, Prophet of God (1995)
- Sacred Bones (1997)
- Buchuland (1998)
Awards
In 1972, he won the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) competition for young composers. Temmingh was awarded a prize by the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra for the composition of his Natal Festival Overture in 1988, and, two years later in 1990, Temmingh was awarded the prestigious Helgaard Steyn Award for his composition Three Sonnets. He won the Helgaard Steyn Award again in 2002 for his cantata Wenn wir in Höchsten Nöten sein composed in 2001. In 2006, Temmingh made history by being the first composer to receive the Helgaard Steyn award for a third time. This time it was for his monumental work Kantorium.
Sources
Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.
Hilde Roos. 2010. 'Opera Production in the Western Cape: Strategies in Search of Indigenisation'. Unpublished PhD thesis. Stellenbosch University.
Gerhardus Stephanus Scheepers. 2019. 'The Life and Work of Roelof Temmingh (1946-2012): A conductor's guide to selected works'. Unpublished Doctoral thesis (Doctor of Musical Arts). University of Washington.
Avril Kinsey. 2009. 'Music for classical guitar by South African composers'. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Cape Town.
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