Albert Ronald Tremain (9 October 1923 – 17 July 1998) was a New Zealand

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and music teacher.

Biography

Born in

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1923, Tremain initially studied

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, gaining Trinity College diplomas before graduating with his first degree in music from

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

in 1946. After war service he taught at Feilding High School and attended Cambridge Summer Music Schools (studying composition with Douglas Lilburn) in 1947 and 1948. He continued his studies at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, gaining diplomas in piano performance and a doctorate in 1953. Awards during this time included the Royal College of Music

Cobbett Prize Walter Willson Cobbett (11 July 184722 January 1937) was an English businessman, amateur violinist and an influential patron of British chamber music from the decade before World War I until his death in 1937. He was an innovative and astute b ...

for

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

, the Farrar Prize for composition, and 2nd Prize in the Lionel Tertis Awards. In 1952 he was awarded an Italian Government Bursary and studied composition with Goffredo Petrassi at the

Conservatorio Santa Cecilia The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome. History The institution has its roots dated back to the Congregazione de' musici di Roma named after Saint Cecilia in 1565 (now Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). Si ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1957 he married Margaret Anne Severs, and later had four children; Sally, Gillian, Mary and William. After some years working free-lance in London as a teacher, composer, and examiner he returned to New Zealand, where he spent ten years as a lecturer at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. In 1963 he was awarded the Carnegie Travelling Fellowship and toured universities in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. From 1967 to 1968 he was Visiting Professor at the School of Music,

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, and from 1968 to 1969 Visiting Professor of Theory and Composition at the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. He then returned to Britain to lecture at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In 1970 he moved to Canada where, until his retirement in 1989, he was Professor of Music at

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

. He was made a Professor Emeritus in 1991. Tremain died at

Niagara on the Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of ...

, Ontario in 1998. Notable students include John Rimmer.

Selected works

*''Allegro for Strings'' *''Five Epigrams for Twelve Solo Strings'' for string ensemble of any size *''Four Medieval Lyrics'' for mezzo-soprano and string trio *''Magnificat'' and ''Nunc dimittis'' for soprano solo and mixed choir *''Mass'' for mixed voices and organ *''Music for Violin and Strings'' for solo violin and string orchestra *''Nine Studies'' for violin and viola (1960) *''Psalm 100'' for unaccompanied choir *''Seven Medieval Lyrics'' for solo tenor, mixed choir and orchestra *''Tenera Juventa'' for mixed choir and 2 pianos *''Three Inventions'' for piano *''Three Poems of James Joyce'' for baritone and viola (1975, revised 1990) *''Three Songs'' for soprano and viola (1960)

References

* Content adapted from: http://sounz.org.nz/contributor/composer/1093

External links

Ronald Tremain at the Centre for New Zealand Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tremain, Ronald 1923 births 1998 deaths New Zealand composers New Zealand male composers Academic staff of the University of Auckland University of Canterbury alumni 20th-century New Zealand composers 20th-century New Zealand musicians Alumni of the Royal College of Music 20th-century male musicians People from Feilding New Zealand expatriates in England New Zealand military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Manawatū-Whanganui