About GMA

Jürgen May, received his Ph.D. in 1989 with a dissertation on early-seventeenth-century lute music. From 1999 to March 2018, he was Research Fellow at the Richard-Strauss-Institut Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He directed the Richard-Strauss-Quellenverzeichnis (Richard Strauss sources catalogue) and the edition of Strauss’s late writings, and is member of the advisory board of the Richard Strauss edition at the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. He is currently research associate at the Research Center Beethoven-Archiv, Bonn, associate professor extraordinary at Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation. Jürgen May has conducted research into 19^th and early 20^th century composers, particularly Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Strauss, with a focus on the interrelationship between creative output, biography, and social and political contexts. Since 2020, he has directed the Genadendal Music Archive project. In his recent research project, he investigates the reception and impact of Beethoven in southern Africa under colonial and postcolonial circumstances.

Inge Engelbrecht completed her master’s degree (cum laude) at Stellenbosch University in March 2017 under the supervision of prof. Stephanus Muller. Her research documented the life and works of three coloured composers who have strong ties to Genadendal and its music traditions. Engelbrecht is currently a PhD fellow at the Africa Open Institute for Music Research and Innovation under the supervision of prof. Willemien Froneman. Her PhD thesis focuses on the Afrikaans koortjie (“little chorus”) tradition in the coloured churches of the Western Cape, a tradition that is a largely unexplored field of research and part of the cultural narrative of a specific community. In the past, Engelbrecht has worked on the Arnold van Wyk collection for Stellenbosch University’s Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS) and currently lectures at the music department of SU.

Anke Froehlich graduated with a BMusHons Cum Laude from Stellenbosch University in 2018, where after she worked in the Hidden Years Music Archive as an archival intern. She is currently a master’s fellow at Africa Open Institute under the supervision of Dr Lizabé Lambrechts. Her master’s research is concerned with the political economy of online music sharing and attempts to map its legal, systemic, and aesthetic implications for music production and distribution in South Africa. Froehlich also lectures Musicology at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Music and edits a cluster on Music and Copyright as guest co-editor for South African Music Studies. Froehlich has a keen research interest in South African musics and their social histories, which makes work on the archival preservation of Genadendal’s music collections a rewarding task.

Petronella Ordelia Louis matriculated from Emil Weder High School, whereafter she worked as a receptionist at Theewaterskloof municipality. After a year, she was promoted to supervisor of the Community Worker’s Programme. Concurrently with her work at the municipality, Louis remotely studied towards a diploma in office management at IQ Academy. Following her graduation, Louis was appointed at the Genadendal Mission Museum as a member of the archival digitisation and auditing team under the mentorship of Dr Isaac Balie. Louis also assisted as Sunday school teacher at the Volkskerk, as well as with the feeding schemes of both Child Welfare and L.R. Schmidt Primary in her community. For the latter, Louis served as chairperson of the governing board where she undertook leadership development training. At present, Louis assists with the school’s Arts and Crafts programme and aspires to study Foundation Phase Education in the near future. As part of her work as assistant teacher, Louis is involved with the organisation of Genadendal’s annual Kinderfees at the local Moravian congregation. She is passionate about passing on Genadendal’s longstanding music traditions to the next generation.

Adolf Daniel (“Dan”) Taylor is born and bred in Genadendal where he completed his schooling career. After matric, Taylor studied at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and graduated with a certificate in marketing management from Boland College. Taylor has experience as an equipment supervisor for an aircraft catering company and as a site administrator for a construction firm. From 2011 to 2012, Taylor was appointed as an assistant auditor for the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) on a project that sought to create an inventory of the Genadendal Mission Museum’s collections under the leadership of the museum’s founder, Dr Isaac Balie. At present, Taylor serves his community as under deacon of the Old Apostolic Church. Working on the digital reproduction of the music collection’s manuscripts excites Taylor, as Genadendal was once home to the first printing press in South Africa that was able to print music notation.