Benjamin Brinner Professor
	University of California Berkeley Music Department

218 Morrison Hall
(510) 642-2688
Email: brinner@berkeley.edu
Office hours

Biography | Career | Publications

Biography

How do musicians do what they do? This question has motivated much of my research, leading to the study of situated cognition. I am interested in the knowledge and processes that musicians use in performance, not as isolated units but in relation to one another. I am particularly fascinated by the dynamics of interaction among performers. I am also interested in matters of musical cognition such as the acquisition, differentiation, and distribution of musical competence, musicians’ conceptualizations of the pieces they know, and the workings of memory. I have pursued these interests primarily in Indonesia (Central Java and Bali) and Israel.

My dissertation research, supported by a Fulbright DDRA fellowship (1982-83), concerned Javanese musicians’ interaction in the performance of pathetan. I explored the interplay of different levels of competence, mutual assessments, and social differences. These interests developed further to form the basis of the cross-culturally applicable analytical frameworks presented in Knowing Music, Making Music (University of Chicago Press, 1995; winner of ASCAP’s Deems Taylor Prize 1996).

Ten years later I returned to Indonesia, with the support of a Fulbright Faculty Research fellowship, for a comparative study of the workings of musical memory in Java and Bali. The focus was on the memorization and recall of long gamelan compositions, some of which are confusingly similar.

Before coming to UC Berkeley I taught in Israel for three years at Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I also directed the Workshop for Non-Western Music at the Jerusalem Music Center where I taught Javanese gamelan, coordinated instruction in Arab, Jewish, and East African music and produced concert series dedicated to exposing the public to a broader range of musical practices than was then generally known in Israel. Returning to Israel on numerous occasions from 1991 to 2003 I conducted research on the emergent field of performance involving Palestinian musicians from the West Bank as well as Israeli Jews and Arabs.

Courses I have created and taught include “Music in the Middle East,” “Music and Theater in Southeast Asia,” “Music in Central Java,” and “Music in American Cultures” at the undergraduate level and graduate seminars titled “Music in Mind,” “Improvisation,” “Historical Ethnomusicology,” and “Tools of Ethnomusicological Research,” among others.

I have also had the good fortune to co-direct Gamelan Sari Raras, UC Berkeley’s Javanese music ensemble, with Midiyanto, Santosa, and Heri Purwanto. The group gives four or five performances a year, often including shadow play or dance.

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Career

Education:

1985	Ph.D. in Music, University of California at Berkeley
1979	M.A. in Music, University of California at Berkeley
1977	B.A. in Musicology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Academic Positions:

2003		Visiting Professor, Colorado College
1999-2001		Assistant Dean, College of Letters and Science, Undergraduate Advising
1995-present		Associate Professor, ethnomusicology, Dept. of Music, U. C. Berkeley
1988-95		Assistant Professor, ethnomusicology, Dept. of Music, U. C. Berkeley
1985-88		Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Music, Tel Aviv University, Israel
		Director, Workshop for Non-Western Music, Jerusalem Music Center, Israel
		Lecturer, Dept. of Music, Hebrew University

Professional Activities:

• Executive committee member, Center for Southeast Asia Studies and Center for Middle East Studies, U.C.Berkeley
• President, Northern California Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology (1994-96, 1998-2000)
• Council Member, Society for Ethnomusicology (1996-99)
• Program and prize committees for Northern California Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology
• Convened and chaired conferences:
  • “Preparing the Unforeseen: Approaches to Musical Improvisation” UC Berkeley (2002)
  • “Indonesian Music: Twentieth Century Innovation and Tradition” (1991)
  • Curated exhibit of Indonesian musical instruments, Lowie Museum of Anthropology, UC Berkeley (1991)

Awards:

ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for book Knowing Music, Making Music
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Abroad fellowship
Fulbright Faculty Research Abroad fellowship
various UC Berkeley grants for research in Indonesia and Israel

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Publications:

                                         

in press		Playing Across a Divide: Musical Encounters in a Contested Land, a book that examines recent musical collaborations of Israeli Jews and Palestinians in musical and social terms. Expected publication October, 2007.
2007		The Music of Central Java: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. Global music series. Oxford University Press. Expected publication date: February 2007.
2004		“Beyond Israelis vs. Palestinians or Jews vs. Arabs: The Social Ramifications of Musical Interaction,” Music and Anthropology, vol. 8.
2003		Review. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 6: The Middle East, ed. Virgina Danielson, Scott Marcus, and Dwight Reynolds. Notes 59/3.
2001		“Indonesia III,1: Central Java,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. second edition. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Vol. 12: 311-29.
2001		“Performing Practice II: Non-Western and traditional music,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. second edition. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Vol. 19: 384-88.
2001		“Pesindhèn” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. second edition. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Vol. 19: 485-6.
2001		Review: “Music of Indonesia vol. 10-12.” Ethnomusicology on Line 7.
1999		Review: Shadows of Empire: Colonial Discourse and Javanese Tales. Laurie J. Sears. American Ethnologist 26/3 (August 1999).
1999		Review: In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation. Nettl, Bruno and Melinda Russell, eds. in Yearbook of Traditional Music 31.
1999		“Cognitive and Interpersonal Dimensions of Listening in Javanese Gamelan Performance," The World of Music 41(1): 19-35.
1995		Knowing Music, Making Music: Javanese Gamelan and the Theory of Musical Competence and Interaction. University of Chicago Series in Ethnomusicology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
1995		“Cultural Matrices and Innovation in Central Javanese Performing Arts,” Ethnomusicology 39/3: 433-56.
1994		“Ceremonial Court Music From Central Java: Program Notes,” in Berkeley Festival and Exhibition. Abrams, Laura and Hilary Ley, eds. Berkeley: University of California, pp. 104-6.
1993		“A Musical Time Capsule from Java,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 46/2: 221-260.
1993		“Freedom and Formulaity in the Suling Playing of Bapak Tarnopangrawit,” Asian Music 24/2: 1-38.
1992		“Cultural Matrices and Innovation in Central Javanese Performing Arts,” in Perlman, Marc, ed. Conference Summaries. New York: The Festival of Indonesia Foundation. Pp. 8-10.
1992		“Performer Interaction in a New Form of Javanese Wayang,” in Foley, Kathy, ed. Essays on Southeast Asian Performing Arts: Local Manifestations and Cross-Cultural Implications. Berkeley: Centers for South and Southeast Asia Studies, U. C. Berkeley. Pp. 96-114.
1990		Review Essay: “Karawitan: Source Readings in Javanese Gamelan and Vocal Music, ed. by Judith Becker and Alan Feinstein,” Ethnomusicology 34/1: 140-6.
1989/90		“At the Border of Sound and Silence: The Use and Function of Pathetan in Javanese Gamelan,” Asian Music 21/1: 1-34.
1985		“Competence and Interaction in Central Javanese Pathetan Performance.” Ph. D. diss. University of California, Berkeley.

Selected Papers:                                                              

2006		“Musical Memory in Java & Bali: A Study in Cultural Ecology,” Faculty Forum, UC Berkeley, Nov. 27
2006		“How to Think about a Machine Trying to Sound Like a Human Ensemble: Some Challenges,” Position paper for panel discussion at Virtual Gamelan Graz: Rules — Grammars — Modeling, Symposium at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Graz, Austria, Oct. 28
2006		“Interaction in Gendhing Performance with Special Reference to Panerusan Parts,” Virtual Gamelan Graz: Rules — Grammars — Modeling, Symposium at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Graz, Austria, Oct. 27
2006		“Indonesia by Means of Performance: Ethnomusicologists' Approaches," Asia By Means Of Performance: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Asian Performance, UC Berkeley, September 22-23
2006		“Intersecting Musical Networks: Invention and Intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian Arena.” in “music/culture/critique” lecture series, University of Texas, Austin, March 31.
2004		“The Cultural Ecology of Learning, Memory, and Performance: Some Javanese & Balinese Musical Examples." Friday Forum of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 22, 2004.
2003		“Musical Encounters on Contested Ground: Collaborative Explorations by Israelis and Palestinians.” Colloquium in the Musicologies, Dept. of Music. U.C. Berkeley.
		“Beyond Jews vs. Arabs: A New Music in Israel.” Invited lecture in series “Music and Politics in the Middle East.” University of Washington, Seattle.
2002		“Preparing the Unforeseen: Improvisation and Composition in Contemporary Israeli/Arab Musical Fusion” delivered at conference Preparing for the Unforeseen: Approaches to Musical Improvisation, UC Berkeley, April 6.
2001		“Playing Across Borders: Making Music at a Middle Eastern Crossroad.” Faculty Forum, UCB.
2000		“Theorizing the Ecology of Musical Memory,” Musical Intersections 2000, Toronto.
		“Sounds Like Peace: Arabs and Jews Mix Music in Israel.” Jewish Music Festival, Berkeley, CA.
1999		“Musical Meetings at a Middle Eastern Crossroads: Musical Collaborations between Jews and Arabs in Israel,” UC Santa Barbara
		“The Play of Memory in Javanese and Balinese Gamelan,” UC Santa Barbara, distinguished lecturer series, and UCLA
		“Arab Musicians in Israel and the West Bank: Contrasting Musical Competences and Interactions,” Middle East: Ancient to Modern Times, University of California at Santa Barbara, March 28.
		“Thinking about Cognition in Ensemble Performance in Java, Bali, and the Middle East,” Music, Culture, Mind Conference, University of Chicago, Feb. 26.
		“Thinking About Musical Memory in Ensemble Performance,” Dept. of Music, Tel Aviv University
1997		“Cognitive and Interpersonal Dimensions of Listening in Javanese Gamelan Performance,” Colloquium, Dept. of Music, Harvard; Group on Orality and Identity, UC Berkeley
1996		“Playing Across a Divide: Intermusical Encounters in Israel and the West Bank.” SEM Toronto; joint Colloquium: Center for Middle Eastern Studies and Dept. of Music, UC Berkeley
		“Musical aspects of Tarik Selampit, a Malay Oral Narrative.” Group on Orality and Identity, UC Berkeley
1995		“Recalling Complex Compositions: Some Perspectives on Musical Memory from Bali,” SEM, Los Angeles; Dept. of Music Colloquium, UC Berkeley.
1994		“Analyzing Musical Interaction as Situated Cognition,” Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Milwaukee; Joint conference of the Northern and Southern California Chapters of the American Musicological Society, U.C. Berkeley.
1993		“Musical Memory in Java and Bali.” Colloquium, Dept. of Music, U.C. Berkeley.
1991		“Cultural Matrices and Innovation in Central Javanese Performing Arts,” Indonesian Music: Twentieth Century Innovation and Tradition, U.C. Berkeley.
1991		“A Javanese Musical Time Capsule,” Annual Meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology, California State University, San Francisco.
1991		“Sir Stamford Raffles and the Javanese Rebab,” Eighth Annual Berkeley Conference on Southeast Asian Studies, U. C. Berkeley.
1990		“Bringing the Puppets to Life,” Festival of Indonesia, UC Berkeley
1989		Javanese musical time. Interdisciplinary Folklore Alliance, UC Berkeley
1987		International Conference on Puppetry, Tel Aviv Museum, Israel.
1986		“Musical Interaction in Javanese Gamelan,” Annual Meeting of the Israel Musicological Society, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
1985		“Performer Interaction in Javanese Wayang Padhat,”Annual Conference, Center for Southeast Asia Studies, UC Berkeley.

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Updated: 2/5/2007