Remembrances and Condolences
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I am so pleased that we have been able to collectively celebrate Barbara’s life over this past year. Her legacy has touched so many lives, which was nowhere more apparent to me than in the hundreds of people from around the globe and across the generations connecting via Zoom in celebration. Amongst her many great achievements Barbara was integral to making the study group what it is today, and for that I am so thankful.
Best regards,
Kirsty Gillespie
I know many of you hold Barbara very close in your hearts, and this is testament to her pivotal role as a mentor, model and creator of community. I have always been struck by the depth of fellow feeling expressed by the many of you who have shared her influence in your academic and personal lives, and it is fitting indeed to know that the ethos she embodied in her work endures in yours and in those who look to you for mentorship as well.
Sincerely,
Dan Bendrups
It shows how much I owe to Barbara in that she has nurtured this wonderful community.
My deepest condolences.
Juni Suwa
I have had the pleasure of getting to know Barbara over the past fifteen years as she has been a generous supporter of Eastman’s Ethnomusicology program. What a remarkable life Barbara has led, and she has enriched the lives of countless people—including my own. She will be deeply missed.
On behalf of my colleagues at the Eastman School of Music, we send our gratitude for all that Barbara has contributed to the world, and our condolences on her passing.
With sympathy,
Jamal Rossi
Jamal J. Rossi
Joan and Martin Messinger
Dean, Eastman School of Music
dear family of barbara smith,
i am saddened by the loss of prof. smith. i only met her twice at SEM
conferences, but each time i was struck by her incredible openness and
direct connection to me, someone she hadn't known.
i know her work at the university of hawai'i was profound - she
brought generations of students into a global consciousness through
world music, and advocated for its respect and practice.
i will miss her and keep her in my music and life.
in spirit and music,
royal hartigan, phd
I was greatly saddened at receiving Ric Trimillo’s announcement of Barbara’s passing. I learned a lot from her as a peer (a much younger peer), mostly through her writings but also whenever we found ourselves together in conversation at professional conferences and other meetings. It seemed clear to me that she was worthy of great and enthusiastic respect, one of the founders of the field we have come to call “Ethnomusicolgy.” In my view, she leaves an enormous legacy as a mentor, a scholar, and a friend.
I will miss her, and honor her.
Respectfully,
Dane Harwood
Independent Scholar
To the Ohana of Miss Smith;
I was one of the first students in the UH ethnomusicology PhD program which started in 1993, and although I didn’t have the opportunity to attend her classes, Miss Smith was always there to give us foreign students warm encouragement and concrete guidance in all aspects of academic life. Today, I translate academic books and papers as my career, and I still hear her instructions and advice in my head while working. I am deeply grateful for everything she has given me. So please allow me to say once more here, “Thank you very very much, Miss Smith!"
Yoko Kurokawa
I write to express my sorrow on hearing of the death of Barbara Smith. I knew her as a wonderful colleague, exacting editor, good-humored advisor, and enduring strong presence in the Society for Ethnomusicology and ICTM. I know many others feel the same way and are saddened by her demise. I wish all of her relatives and colleagues healing from the loss in the coming months and years.
Anthony Seeger
Anthony Seeger, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Ethnomusicology, Emeritus, UCLA
Director and Curator emeritus, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Smithsonian Institution
I am deeply socked to hear of my dear, dear teacher, Miss Smith's passing.
I was a foreign student from Okinawa, Japan from 1967 to 1976 in the
U.H. at Manoa.
I have received my Bachelor's degree in voice performance, but Miss
Smith was the one
who encourage me to go on to the graduate school and to do work on my
country's music.
I had a heavy language problem to write thesis in English, but she
always encouraged me and
helped me to finish up my thesis. Now I am doing a lot of works
associated with Okinawan music
including teaching at colleges and being a committee member of the
Cultural Properties Protection
Council of Okinawa Prefecture. It's all thanks to Miss Smith.
I have a lot of memories of her and never forget her warm smiling face.
She is our legend and honer forever.
I will be praying at the same time you scatter her ashes on the sea of
the Magic Island.
Aloha pumehana e my dear teacher Miss Smith,
Etsuko Higa
I was so sorry to hear about Barbara's passing. I am currently the faculty member in ethnomusicology at the Eastman School of Music and, while I never had the opportunity to meet Barbara, I followed her activities with true awe as she aged and yet continued to be so vibrant and lively. I am writing to express not only my condolences, but my immense thanks for the example she set and the support she provided to so many ethnomusicologists, students, and programs. I have included below an email I composed to her upon the occasion of her 100th birthday, yet never sent.
Warmest wishes,
Anaar Desai-Stephens
It was with great sadness that I learned of Barbara's death. She became a colleague when I joined the Music Department's faculty, but soon became an extraordinary mentor, and later what I considered a friend. I learned so much from her--about academic activities, collegiality, professionalism, and grace. She was demanding and rigorous when it came to scholarship, passionate about what she did, gave so willingly of her time and knowledge, and diplomatic in offering what might otherwise have been harsh criticism.
Her smiling face in a photo in which she was bedecked with leis sits on my bookshelf--a continuing reminder of a truly remarkable woman and all that I learned from her.
My warmest regards,
Judy
Judy Van Zile
Professor Emerita of Dance
University of Hawaii at Manoa
I would like to tell you a bti more about my interactions with Barbara over the years. Some years after I graduated from UH, I taught in Hong Kong, and when I was there I had the pleasure to be the translator for her presentation at a conference there on Chinese music in the Pacific. She organized a session on music for a meeting of the Pacific Science Foundation in Beijing, and I remember pleasant meals with her and another former student from Okinawa, Etsuko Higa. She sponsored a visit of a performing group from Hong Kong, the Chinese Music Virtuosi, to Honolulu, and I introduced their performances and demonstrations at UH and at local high schools. When I became the editor of the journal Ethnomusicology, she sent me notes of congratulation when every issue appeared. She will always be my teacher, but she was also a true friend. I will miss her dearly, but she will always be there in my heart.
Sending my aloha for the sendoff tomorrow. I was not a surfer, but I loved Magic Island, and I spent many happy hours swimming along the shore at Ala Moana Beach right next to it.
With best regards,
Larry
J. Lawrence Witzleben
Professor, Ethnomusicology
Coordinator of Asian Music Ensembles and Music and Culture Minor
University of Maryland School of Music
It is with deep sorrow that I read the announcement from the East-West Center Arts Program this afternoon of Professor Emerita Barbara Smith’s passing. As you surely know, Barbara was an alumna of Pomona College, graduating in 1942 with a bachelor of arts degree in music magna cum laude, and she was a much-beloved friend and supporter of the College and the Music Department. I had the great honor of meeting and talking with Barbara on numerous occasions in person and by email over the years, in Claremont and in Hawai’i, including in 2009 when the Pomona College Glee Club gave a concert for her and other residents at Kāhala Nui. Everyone welcomed us warmly, but Barbara was especially gracious to our students and me that evening. On that same trip, I was lucky to share several meals with her, including one with two of our students. The ninety minutes they spent with her was a lesson to each of how one must never stop asking questions and learning. Needless to say, Barbara blew them away with the stories of her life, her research experiences, and her immense probing intellect.
Barbara’s generosity to our department in support of our non-Western music curriculum in particular, and of my two dear colleagues in ethnomusicology, the late Katherine Hagedorn and Gibb Schreffler, has been an inspiration to all of us, and we are ever-grateful for it. What I will cherish the most about her is her generous spirit, both in person and via email, her love of her chosen field and astonishing contribution to it, and her deep respect for the diverse cultures of the world.
To you, her family and friends, and on behalf of my colleagues in the Pomona College Music Department, I extend our sincerest condolences.
Donna M. Di Grazia, Ph.D. (musicology)
Chair, Department of Music
David J. Baldwin Professor of Music & Choral Conductor
Chair, Music Department
Pomona College Music Department
The UH Department of Philosophy has enjoyed a long-lasting friendship with Professor Barbara Smith. She was an inspiration to faculty and students. Her dedication to non-Western traditions, her teaching commitment, and her extraordinary energy will not be forgotten. We shall remain ever grateful to her for her generous support of our East-West Philosophers' Conference series.
You may know that we had planned to celebrate her 100th birthday during our 12th East-West Philosophers' Conference, originally scheduled in May 2020. Alas, the pandemic forced us to postpone. Rest assured that we will celebrate her life and manifold achievements at our Conference in May 2022. We hope you'll be able to join us for that event.
We shall miss Professor Smith dearly at our future conferences.
Please, accept the Department's and the EWPC co-directors' heartfelt condolences.
Dr. Tamara Albertini
Dr. Roger Ames
Dr. Peter Hershock
Dr. Tamara Albertini
Chair and Professor of Philosophy
Director of the Undergraduate
Certificate of Islamic Studies
Fulbright Scholar
Department of Philosophy
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
My name is Chan Park, I would like to convey my deepest condolences to you.
Dr. Barbara Smith was a greatest teacher of what a genuine scholarship is all about.
Her love for the world music was deeply inspirational.
Dr. Smith more than once attended my modest pansori singing, every time sending energy and encouragement for me.
Singing pansori back in Hawaii will never be the same without her there,
but her beautiful memory will stay as an inspirational force,
I wish you all the best!
Chan Park, Professor Emeritus
Korean Literature, language, and performance
The Ohio State University
My apologies for waiting so long to write this brief note. I was one of her hundreds of graduate students (1981-85 MA in ethnomusicology), presented during her 100th birthday celebration conference, attended her 101st birthday celebration, and then viewed photos and videos online of the scattering of her ashes. Such a moving event. And, I am reminded that all of these were "celebrations" of a long and rich life and never sad moments.
These were all extraordinary opportunities to remember her impact not only on my life or in the field of ethnomusicology, but on the world. She not only produced scholars, musicians and leaders but also festivals and she gave generously to programs, students, and universities. I recently discovered that she was a benefactor to the Center for World Music; I am on the Board of that organization but wasn't aware of her contributions until the past month.
She was so helpful in steering students, including me, into proper directions through instruction, writing (she demanded good writing), and long-time assistance, including writing unsolicited letters when students were applying for jobs. And, she was a friend. She graciously approved of me calling her "Barbara" over 20 years ago; so many of her former students - all of whom she remembered - always called her "Miss Smith." She was unforgettable and extraordinary, but of course you knew that, and her legacy will endure for generations.
Mahalo nui loa,
David
David Harnish, PhD
Chair and Professor
Department of Music
Director, Performing Arts Entrepreneurship
University of San Diego
Greg, we haven't met before, and I hope you don't mind me writing. Barbara was a mentor to me when I complete my MA and PhD in Hawaii from the late 1990s through the early 2000s, and particularly related to Micronesia, my research focus. I assisted her over several years to organize and return her 1963–64 Micronesia recordings to Palau, the FSM, and the Marshall Islands. Like so many, I treasure my fond memories of collaborations with Barbara over the years on these projects.
Dr. Brian Diettrich | Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology
Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka