Katherine Hagedorn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Katherine Johanna Hagedorn October 16, 1961 Summit, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | November 12, 2013 (aged 52) |
| Nationality | American |
| 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(s) | Ethnomusicologist, Santería priestess |
| Employer | Pomona College |
| Known for | Research on Afro-Cuban religious and folkloric performance |
| Board member of | National Society for Ethnomusicology |
| Spouse | 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 American ethnomusicologist. Born in Summit, New Jersey to a white family, she became a traditional Cuban drummer and Santería 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.[1] 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."[2]
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.[2]
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."[3]
Her best known work is Divine Utterances: The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería.[4]
- ^ Bald, Anthony (November 15, 2013). "In Memoriam: Katherine Hagedorn". The Student Life. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Wood, Mark (November 13, 2013). "In Memoriam: Professor of Music Katherine Hagedorn". Pomona College. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ^ Colker, David (November 18, 2013). "Katherine Hagedorn dies at 52; Pomona professor was Santeria priestess". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ 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. S2CID 161748099. Retrieved November 21, 2013.