Former Music Professor Robert Brown, one of the founders of the University’s World Music Program, died Nov. 29 in California at the age of 78. Brown is credited with coining the term “world music” and advancing the concept of performance study groups.
“[Performance study] emphasizes the importance of direct contacts between students and master musicians from around the world,” said Professor Sumarsam, Chair of the Music Department. “[Brown] was responsible for bringing master musicians from India, Indonesia, Africa, Japan, and other parts of the world. This approach to music study has greatly contributed to the legacy and distinctive character of our music program and its national and international prominence.”
Sumarsam gives credit to Brown for the number of performance groups and ensembles the University currently maintains.
Brown became an assistant professor in 1961, after receiving his Ph. D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, and was appointed a full professor in 1966.
On Jan. 22, Brown and Andrew Toth ’70, one of Brown’s first students, who died Nov. 27 at the age of 57, were remembered in a memorial service attended by friends and colleagues. The attendees joined together to perform a “Selamatan,” a traditional Indonesian celebration of a person’s life.
“The fact that we still teach Javanese gamelan, South Indian music, and West African music decades later is due to Brown’s initiative,” Music Professor Mark Slobin said.
In 1971, Brown left the University but continued to establish his legacy as a proponent of world music. He worked for the American Society for Eastern Arts and established the Center for World Music in Berkeley, California in 1973. From 1979 until his retirement in 1992, Brown served as Professor of Music at San Diego State University. But Brown’s mark on Wesleyan is still pertinent.
“The performance study group is a concept that we still cherish and hold onto in our present program,” Sumarsam said.
Brown is survived by a niece and three nephews, along with many great nieces and nephews.
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