| Country | New Zealand |
|---|
| Occupation | Composer |
|---|
| Categories | Classical, Electronic, Other, Sacred |
|---|
Born in Auckland, John Rimmer studied composition at the University of Auckland with Ronald Tremain and later at the University of Toronto with John Weinzweig. His works have been performed internationally and he has received commissions from orchestras and chamber ensembles in New Zealand and from diverse overseas groups such as the London Sinfonietta, Lysis and the Bourges Electroacoustic Music Studio in France.
John Rimmer taught at the School of Music, University of Auckland for 25 years before retiring in 1999. He was the Mozart Fellow (composer-in-residence) at the University of Otago, Dunedin in 1972 and has also had recent composing residencies with the Auckland Philharmonia, Dalewool Auckland Brass Band and the Manukau City Symphony Orchestra.
Most of John Rimmer’s recent compositions are environmentally inspired and as such are a protest about the damage to the Earth's environment by contemporary societies. Living close to nature he listens to the world around him including its inhabitants and draws on many types of sounds with which to develop personal musical explorations. He enjoys playing the piano and the horn, conducting a brass band and singing in choirs in Motueka.
John Rimmer lives with his wife Helen at Tapu Bay near Kaiteriteri in the Nelson Region, New Zealand.
