Dawid Engela

Dawid Sofius Engela (30 October 1931 – 25 November 1967) was a South African broadcaster, composer and musicologist.

He was born in Florida, a suburb to the west of Johannesburg, Transvaal (now part of the province of Gauteng). He was the only child of David Jakobus Engela (1895–1962) and Sophia Hendrina Fredrika Engela (1903–1991, née Buys). His father was a teacher in the service of the Transvaal Education Department and, later, also a part-time lecturer in philosophy at the University of South Africa. His mother was an obstetric nurse and midwife.

His parents, both members of the Gereformeerde Kerk, brought him up to be highly religious, an important fact which was reflected in various compositions. His father was of an artistic nature and was a self-taught musician and painter, and Dawid was encouraged to learn the piano formally.

He took an early interest in African music and song and would attend Sunday afternoon church services in the African neighborhood to make closer acquaintance with the music of the people. This knowledge evidently contributed in later years to his decision to set two poems by Roy Campbell including The Zulu Girl to music; these poems describe typical Zulu characters.

In 1947 he matriculated from Voortrekker High School, Boksburg, with a first-class pass and distinctions in Latin, Mathematics, Physical Science and Music.

He registered in 1948 for a BA degree at Potchefstroom University. His subjects were Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Theology, Dutch and Afrikaans, and Music. He was also accompanist, soloist and pianist/conductor in the student orchestra. At this point Engela was aiming to enter the ministry, but soon realized that his future career lay in music. He nevertheless decided first to complete the year's study at Potchefstroom.

In 1949 he registered for a three-year B.Mus. degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. His tutors were Prof. P. R. Kirby, Dr. W Paff and Adolph Hallis.

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