Mellonee Burnim facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mellonee Burnim
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|---|---|
| Born |
Mellonee Victoria Burnim
1950 (age 74–75) |
| Education | North Texas State University University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Indiana University |
Mellonee Victoria Burnim is a famous American expert in music. She is known as an ethnomusicologist. This means she studies music from different cultures. Ms. Burnim is a retired professor from Indiana University Bloomington. She is especially known for her work on African American gospel music. She also used to lead the university's Archives of African American Music and Culture. This archive collects and saves important African American music and cultural items.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
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 just for Black people. There, she loved to sing gospel music. Gospel music is a type of Christian music.
By the time she was 12 years old, Mellonee was very talented. She played the piano for three different church choirs in her community. This shows how dedicated she was to music from a young age.
College and Advanced Studies
Mellonee Burnim went to North Texas State University. She studied music education and focused on playing the piano. Even while in college, she continued to play piano for a Black Baptist church choir every Sunday.
Later, she earned a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For her master's project, she studied songs found in folktales of the Mende people. The Mende are an ethnic group mainly from Sierra Leone.
In 1976, Indiana University Bloomington invited her to join. She came to get her PhD and to start the university's African Choral Ensemble. She finished her doctorate in ethnomusicology in 1980. Her main research was about Black gospel music and its meaning for people's identity.
A Career in Music and Culture
After getting her PhD, 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. As of 2017, Dr. Burnim is a professor emerita. This means she is a retired professor who still holds an honored title.
Expert in Gospel Music
Dr. Burnim is known as a leader in studying African American gospel music. She was a very active researcher. She wrote many articles and gave many talks about the history and practice of Black religious music. Her work helped many people understand this important music style.
She also worked with her colleague, Portia K. Maultsby. Together, they edited two important textbooks. These books helped students learn about African American music. The first book was African American Music: An Introduction (2006). The second was Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (2016).
You can find many of Dr. Burnim's papers and recordings in the Indiana University archives. These materials are important for anyone who wants to learn more about her work.
Key Works
Books Co-Edited
