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Mellonee Burnim
Born
Mellonee Victoria Burnim

1950 (age 74–75)
Education North Texas State University

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Indiana University Bloomington
Scientific career
Institutions Indiana University

Mellonee Victoria Burnim (born in 1950) is an American expert in music. She is known as an ethnomusicologist, which means she studies music from different cultures. Dr. Burnim is a retired professor from Indiana University Bloomington. She is especially good at studying African American gospel music. She also used to lead the university's Archives of African American Music and Culture.

Early Life and Education

Mellonee Burnim grew up in a small town called Teague, Texas. This was in the 1950s and 1960s. She went to schools and churches that were only for Black people. There, she loved to sing gospel music.

By the time she was 12 years old, Mellonee was already playing the piano. She played for three different church choirs in her community.

Burnim went to North Texas State University. She studied music education and focused on playing the piano. While she was there, she kept playing piano for a Black Baptist church choir on Sundays.

Later, she earned a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For her master's project, she wrote about songs from Mende folktales.

In 1976, Indiana University Bloomington asked Burnim to join them. She came to finish her PhD and to start the university's African Choral Ensemble. She earned her PhD in ethnomusicology in 1980. Her main research was about Black gospel music and what it means to people.

Career Highlights

After finishing her studies, Dr. Burnim stayed at Indiana University. She became a teacher in the Department of Afro-American Studies. This department is now called African American and African Diaspora Studies. She even became the head of that department.

In 1999, she moved to the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. From 2014 to 2016, she was the director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture. This archive keeps important records of Black music and culture. Since 2017, Dr. Burnim has been a professor emerita. This means she is a retired professor who is still highly respected.

Mellonee Burnim is seen as a leader in studying African American gospel music. She is known as a "prolific" researcher. This means she did a lot of research and wrote many papers. She also gave many talks about the history of Black religious music.

Dr. Burnim also worked with her colleague, Portia K. Maultsby. Together, they edited two important books. These books are called African American Music: An Introduction (2006) and Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (2016). You can find many of Burnim's writings and recordings in the Indiana University archives.

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