Sjoerd Tamminga, born in 1947 in Goes, Netherlands, received his first carillon lessons at the age of eleven from his piano teacher, the then city carillonneur of Goes, Wilhelm Harthoorn. While studying dentistry in Amsterdam, he received further carillon lessons from the carillonneur of the Oudekerk in Amsterdam, Cees Roelofs, who had studied with Jef Denyn at the Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium, and graduated there in 1933. Tamminga followed his example and earned his own carillon diploma “with great distinction” from the same school in 1976. That same year, he won first prize in the carillon competition at the Holland Festival in Tiel. In 1977, he became city carillonneur of Goes. He performs at carillon festivals in various European countries and records CDs. He specializes in popular melodies, evergreens, and jazz. Together with his son, the carillonneur and composer Jorrit Tamminga, he works on music for carillon and electronics.

                                                     

GOES – City carillonneur Sjoerd Tamminga has passed away at the age of 65. From 1977, he was the regular carillon player in Goes. With Tamminga’s death, the city loses a remarkable musician who dared to combine modern music with the ancient craft of carillonnage.

Tamminga first encountered carillon music at the age of 11 through piano lessons with city carillonneur Willem Harthoorn, whose successor he later became. From 1974, he studied at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, where he received his diploma with honors in 1976.

Lou Reed
In 2009, Sjoerd Tamminga represented the Netherlands at the celebration of the 400th anniversary of relations between our country and New York. On Queen’s Day of the same year, he played the carillon of the Riverside Church in the metropolis, the largest carillon in the world. In the presence of singer Lou Reed, Tamminga performed his version of “Perfect Day.”

Anniversary
Seven years earlier, the Goes native celebrated his 25th anniversary as the city’s carillonneur. On October 30, Sjoerd Tamminga would have celebrated his 66th birthday.

Source: www.carillontorens.com May 23, 2013