Sim Gokkes

Sim Gokkes (* February 5, 1897, † 1943 in Auschwitz ) was a Dutch composer.

As a child Sim Gokkes received singing lessons from an opera singer Ben Geysel and Victor Schlesinger, the cantor of the synagogue Rapenburg in Amsterdam. He studied composition with Sem Dresden as well as piano and flute at the Amsterdam Conservatory.

Sim Gokkes led his life several choirs. For many years he was director of Santo Servicio, the choir of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. Gokkes is known as an innovator of synagogue music. His compositions are mainly deal with religious themes.

With his wife, the pianist Rebecca Winnik, and his two children Gokkes was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943.