Bruno Nettl

Bruno Nettl (14th Mar 1930, Prague — 14th Jan 2020, Urbana, IL) was a renowned Czech-American ethnomusicologist, professor emeritus of Music and Anthropology at the University Of Illinois. He specialized in folk and traditional music, particularly North American indigenous music (musical culture of Blackfeet people, "Niitsitapi" or "Siksikaitsitapi"), music of Iran, and fundamental ethnomusicology. He was born to musicologist Paul Nettl and pianist Gertrude Hutter in Prague, Czechoslovakia. In 1939, barely escaping from Holocaust, a nine-year-old Bruno immigrated to the United States with his parents. Nettl studied at Indiana University with George Herzog, receiving his Bachelor's (1950) and Master of Arts ('51) degrees, followed by a Ph.D. in 1953. Bruno Nettl earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree from The University Of Michigan in 1960. Throughout his career, Dr. Nettl also held honorary doctorates from the Carleton College, Kenyon College, University of Illinois, and the University of Chicago. In 1964, Bruno Nettl joined the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as an Associate Professor of Music. Since 1967, he served as a Professor of Music and Anthropology, establishing what became one of the nation's leading ethnomusicology departments in the USA. Bruno Nettl was a teacher and mentor to many prominent ethnomusicologists, including Philip V. Bohlman and Dr. Christopher A. Waterman. In 1992, Nettl retired as Professor Emeritus, teaching part-time afterward. He also served as president of the Society For Ethnomusicology (1969-1971) and as an editor of its journal, Ethnomusicology.