Rimmer, John (Francis)
Rimmer, John (Francis)
Rimmer, John (Francis) , New Zealand composer, teacher, and horn player; b. Auckland, Feb. 5, 1939. He studied at the Univ. of New Zealand (B.A., 1961), and with Ronald Tremain at the Univ. of Auckland (M.A., 1963) and with John Weinzweig and Gustav Ciamaga at the Univ. of Toronto (Mus.D., 1972). From 1970 to 1974 he was a lecturer at North Shores Teachers Coll. He was a Mozart Fellow at the Univ. of Otago in 1972. In 1974 he became lecturer, in 1978 a senior lecturer, in 1989 an assoc. prof., and in 1995 was awarded a personal professorial chair in music at the Univ. of Auckland, from which he retired in 1999. In 1983 his De Aestibus Rerum won 1st prize in the International Horn Competition and in 1986 his Fleeting Images received the International Confederation of Electroacoutic Music Prize in Bourges.
Works
DRAMATIC: The Juggler, music theater (Hamilton, Oct. 30, 1976); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, incidental music to Shakespeare’s play (Auckland, July 11, 1980); Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight, opera (Auckland, Nov. 18, 1981); Galileo, chamber opera (Aucland, Sept. 18, 1998). ORCH.: 2 syms.: No. 1 (1968; N.Y., Feb. 24, 1970) and No. 2, The Feeling of Sound (Auckland, June 1, 1989); December Nights for Small Orch. (1970); Explorations-Discoveries for Horn and Orch. (1971; Wellington, March 20, 1974); At the Appointed Time (Dunedin, Sept. 1, 1973); The Ring of Fire for Chamber Orch. (Wellington, Oct. 12, 1976); Viola Concerto (1980; Wellington, Oct. 2, 1982); Your Piano is My Forte, concerto for Piano and Chamber Orch. (Auckland, Oct. 13, 1991); Gossamer for 12 Solo Strings (1992; Auckland, Feb. 26, 1993); Vulcan, fanfare (Auckland, March 11, 1999). CHAMBER: Composition 2 for Wind Quintet and Electronic Sounds (1969; Wellington, Aug. 30, 1971), 5 for Percussion and Electronic Sounds (Cambridge, N.Z., Jan. 10, 1971), and 8 for Violin and Electronic Sounds (Cambridge, N.Z., Jan. 8, 1975); Refrains, Cadenzas, and Interludes for String Quartet (1971; Cambridge , N.Z., Jan. 11, 1972); Interplay for Harpsichord and Percussion (Auckland, May 7, 1972); The New Tristan for Recorders, Synthesizers, and Percussion (Wellington, March 8, 1975); Where Sea Meets Sky 2 for Chamber Ensemble (Wellington, Nov. 2, 1975); Extro-Intro for Horn and Synthesizer (Wellington, Aug. 26, 1977); Thoughts from Feria for 8 Instruments (Auckland, April 30, 1978); De Aestibus Rerum for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Cello, and Piano (Auckland, Nov. 27, 1983); With the Current for Flute, Cello, Piano, and Percussion (Adelaide, May 6, 1986); Omarama: Place of Light for Piano, Violin, and Trumpet (Auckland, April 15, 1987); Tritones for Horn and Synthesizer (Wellington, Oct. 31, 1987); The Revelation of Increasing Complexity for Clarinet and Percussion (1989; Auckland, July 14, 1990); Bowed Insights for String Quartet (Auckland, Sept. 26, 1993); Merger for 2 Horns and Tuba (Auckland, March 7, 1999). OTHER: Where Sea Meets Sky 1, electronic piece (1975; Bourges, June 5, 1976); De Motu Naturae, electronic piece (Bourges, June 9, 1985); Fleeting Images, computer piece (1985; Vancouver, Feb. 14, 1986); An Inner Voice, computer piece (Auckland, Sept. 18, 1991); A Vocalise for Einstein, computer piece (1991; Auckland, Aug. 19, 1992); Pacific Soundscapes With Dancing, computer piece (Bangkok, Dec. 3, 1995).
—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire