Well-known classical music personality, Barbara Trofimczyk, passed away
on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, after a painful battle with a cancerous tumour.
Her history of music is impressive. She worked at the University of Natal (now UKZN), she trained the Durban Boys Choir with Bobby Mills providing assistance. She had a long association with SA Society of Music Teachers and the Durban Chamber Choir. Until fairly recently, she was a dedicated teacher of various individuals.
She was a strong supporter of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra and reviewed concerts for the artSMart website in partnership with Professor David Smith.
David Smith remembers her with affection and respect:
He says: “Looking back on my professional association with Barbara, I notice that, rather uncannily, she preceded me in a series of occupations. When I moved to Durban to teach music theory at the University of Natal (now UKZN), I found that she was ‘holding the fort’ in the theory section. Harmonic analysis in particular was her forte and her delight, and she continued to instruct students while I settled in, and well beyond.
“When I took on a boys’ choir at Durban High School, I was keenly aware of her long tenure as director of the Durban Boys’ Choir, in which she was aided by her close friend Bobby Mills. She always spoke of that project with satisfaction. And it was Barbara who encouraged me to take up concert reviewing for the artSMart website, something she had done with her characteristic consistency for an extended period.
Perhaps these sequences are not that surprising, given Barbara’s versatility as a musical thinker and pedagogue. In a sense, she had prepared a way, and I was fortunate enough to walk in her footsteps.”
Barbara’s funeral will take place on Friday, July 10, 2026, at 11h00 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church (corner of Musgrave and St Thomas Roads).
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