Simon (Sim) Gokkes (21 March 1897, Amsterdam – 5 February 1943,

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

) was a Dutch-Jewish composer.

Biography

As a child, Gokkes took his first singing lessons with Ben Geysel, an opera singer who ran the Rembrandt Theatre of Amsterdam. Gokkes was also a pupil of Victor Schlesinger, cantor of the Rapenburg Synagogue in Amsterdam. In 1912, Gokkes wrote his first compositions, "Ngolinu Leshabiag" and "Yigdal". He studied composition with

Sem Dresden Samuel "Sem" Dresden (April 20, 1881 in Amsterdam – July 30, 1957 at The Hague) was a Dutch conductor, composer, and teacher. Life Dresden was born into a Jewish diamond-broking family and initially studied musical theory with Fred Roeske and c ...

and also piano and flute at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, finishing in 1919. He then worked as an assistant director of the Netherlands Opera. Throughout his life, Gokkes directed several choirs. In 1921, he founded the School Choir of Amsterdam. For years he was director of the ''Santo Serviçio'', the choir of the

Portuguese Synagogue The Portuguese Synagogue, also known as the Esnoga, or Snoge, is a late 17th-century Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam, completed in 1675. ''Esnoga'' is the word for synagogue in Judaeo-Spanish, the traditional Judaeo-Spanish language of Sephar ...

in Amsterdam. Gokkes is known as an innovator of synagogue music. His compositions relate primarily to religious themes. In 1923, Gokkes married pianist Rebecca Winnik. Along with his wife and his two children, David and Rachel, he was murdered in

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

on 5 February 1943. Only some of his works are preserved in the

Netherlands Music Institute The Netherlands Music Institute (Nederlands Muziek Instituut, NMI) is the central institution for the preservation of the musical heritage of the Netherlands. History of the institute The NMI has existed as a foundation since 1996; it became full ...

Works preserved at the Netherlands Music Institute

* ''Le pèlerin de Jérusalem'', Amsterdam, May 1928, lyrics by Jacob Israël de Haan, for voice and piano * ''Kaddisch'', Amsterdam, June 1928, for voice and piano * ''C’en est fait'', June 1928, lyrics by Ernest Bussy, for voice and piano * ''Kermesse d’été'', Amsterdam, May 1928, lyrics by Willem de Mérode, for voice and piano * ''Duiven'', Amsterdam, May 1928, lyrics by François Pauwels * ''La lune blanche luit dans les bois'', Amsterdam, June 1928, lyrics by Paul Verlaine, for voice and piano * ''Trois Lieder hébreux'', Amsterdam, 1926, lyrics by Jehuda-ben Samuel Hallevi, for voice and piano * ''Kaddisch'', Amsterdam, June 1928, for voice and piano * ''Sonatine'', June 1939, for piano * ''Kinah'', Amsterdam, April 1928, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Chapter I, Verses 1-8, for solo voices, wind quintet and piano {{DEFAULTSORT:Gokkes, Sim 1897 births 1943 deaths Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers Dutch conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Modernist composers Dutch people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Musicians from Amsterdam Dutch Jews who died in the Holocaust Jewish composers Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians