Adelheid Dina Martha Jens Radda

1938 - 2006

Adelheid Radda, an accomplished pianist, played a critical role in the music program at Helderberg College in South Africa for over two decades. She was an immensely popular piano teacher who inspired her students and colleagues with her spirited approach to teaching and life.

Adelheid was born in Schaesberg, Limburg, The Netherlands, a daughter of Eso and Annelise Schlage Jens, and raised in South Africa. Both of her parents were musical, and she was raised in a home where music was an important part of life.

She married Fritz Radda, a singer, in June 1958. They would have two children, Heidi and Fritz. She was a dedicated mother who taught her children, herself, and her husband English (they spoke Afrikaans, a language derived from the Dutch language which is as common in South Africa as English) by enrolling in the English version of the Home Study Institute Pre-school Course while the children were very young. She later wrote about her approach in the Division paper:

Before Breakfast we had worship using the Bible textbook alternately with Bybelverhaal. Where the English words were not understood, we translated - good language study at the same time as learning the Scriptures! Later in the morning we followed the course - always a most enjoyable time. … Besides learning number work, we had music sessions and physical exercises, played games and did finger plays, learned about animals and birds, and coloured pictures. … I taught them for about 11/2 hours each day.

That dedication to the learning process was characteristic of the way in which she taught piano, and her students were noted for their accomplishments. She taught lessons at HC for over twenty years, from 1984 to 2006.

Jannie Kritzinger, present chair of the music program at HC recently wrote:

Adelaide was a dedicated person who was passionate about her role as a music teacher, loved her students, and insisted on excellence in all that she and her students undertook. She was a wonderful teammate who was continually updating her extensive music collection and was a wonderful accompanist, accompaning me for most of my singing exams.

Dan Shultz/2011

Sources: IAMA biography sheet completed by her husband, Fritz Radda, March 2011; information and comments provided by Jannie Kritzinger, February and March 2011, Trans African Division Outlook, 15 April 1971.