Katherine Hagedorn

Katherine Hagedorn
Born Katherine Johanna Hagedorn
(1961-10-16)October 16, 1961
Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
Died November 12, 2013(2013-11-12) (aged 52)
Nationality United States
Alma mater B.A. Tufts University, Spanish, Russian and English studies, minor in classical piano; Johns Hopkins University, master's degree, international relations; Brown University, master's and PhD in ethnomusicology
Occupation Ethnomusicologist, Santeria priestess
Employer Pomona College
Known for Research on Afro-Cuban religious and folkloric performance
Board member of National Society for Ethnomusicology
Spouse(s) Terry Ryan
Parent(s) Fred and Grace Hagedorn
Awards White House fellow; California Professor of the Year award, 2000; Mellon New Directions Fellowship; Alan Merriam Prize, 2002

Katherine Johanna Hagedorn (October 16, 1961 – November 12, 2013) was an ethnomusicologist, born in Summit, New Jersey to a white family, who became a traditional Cuban drummer and Santeria priestess.

She spent her career as a Professor of Music at Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she directed the Ethnomusicology Program, served as co-coordinator of the Gender & Women’s Studies Program, and became an associate dean. She also served as a "scholar-in-residence at Harvard University’s Center for the Study of World Religions and as a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara."[1]

Trained in languages and classical piano at Tufts University, Hagedorn earned an M.A. in Soviet Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She became a White House fellow, and worked on the Afghanistan desk at the State Department.[1]

Starting in 1989, Hagedorn traveled to Cuba to study the batá drum in Matanzas Province. There, she was initiated as a Santería priestess. At Pomona, she taught the batá drum, Tuvan throat singing, and directed a Balinese Gamelan ensemble. Her classes were described as "emphatically participatory, not to mention loud."[2]

Her best known work is Divine Utterances: The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería.[3]

Works

References

  1. 1 2 Wood, Mark (2013-11-13). "In Memoriam: Professor of Music Katherine Hagedorn". Pomona College. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
  2. Colker, David (2013-11-18). "Katherine Hagedorn dies at 52; Pomona professor was Santeria priestess". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
  3. Sampedro, Benita (2004). "Divine Utterances: The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería by Katherine J. Hagedorn". Research in African Literatures 35 (2): 203–04. doi:10.1353/ral.2004.0053. Retrieved 2013-11-21.

External links

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