Kelly, Thomas Forrest
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Thomas Forrest Kelly (born 1943) is an American
musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
, musician, and scholar. He is the Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. His most recent books include: ''The Role of the Scroll'' (2019), ''Capturing Music: The Story of Notation'' (2014), and ''Music Then and Now'' (2012).


Career

Thomas Forrest Kelly was born in
Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
. He attended
Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...
, and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
( A. B. 1964).UNC Chapel Hil
Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2005
accessed October 11, 2014.
Two years in France on a
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
grant allowed him to study organ with Jean Langlais privately and at the
Schola Cantorum de Paris The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History The Schola ...
( 1966), and the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
(LRAM 1964).Harvard Department of Music
Thomas Forrest Kelly
, accessed October 11, 2014.
His graduate study was at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
( A. M. 1970,
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
1973). Kelly is Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at Harvard University, where he served as Chair of the Music Department from 1999 to 2004. In 2005 he was named a
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
Professor in recognition of his teaching of undergraduates. Before coming to Harvard he taught at
Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in ...
(where he was the director of the program in Historical Performance and served as acting Dean of the Conservatory); he taught at the
Five College Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Am ...
in Massachusetts (Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire Colleges and the University of Massachusetts), where he was the founding director of the Five College Early Music Program. From 1972 to 1979 he taught at
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
. He was a visiting scholar at King's College, Cambridge (1976–77) and a at the
École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...
, Paris (1998).


Honors

Kelly is a Chevalier of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
of the French Republic, 2010. He is a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, the
American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...
, and the
Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until ) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes the q ...
. He has held awards from the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
and the
American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...
(twice). His book ''The Beneventan Chant'' (Cambridge, 1989) was awarded the Otto Kinkeldey Award of the
American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legiti ...
for the most distinguished work of musicological scholarship of 1989. He received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
in 2005. Kelly also is an honorary citizen of the city of
Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...
(Italy).


Musical activities

In addition to the performance and conducting connected with his teaching, Kelly was the Artistic Director of the Castle Hill Festival (Massachusetts, 1973–1983);Early Music America
Staff & Board of Directors
, accessed October 12, 2014.
the Director of the International Early Dance and Music Institute (1982–1984), and the Music Director of the Cambridge Society for Early Music (1977–1978).


Publications

Kelly has two principal areas of interest: medieval music and culture, and the performance of music of the past (often called Early Music or Historical Performance). He is a frequent lecturer and broadcaster. He has given regular series of talks for the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
, the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, and others.Thomas Forrest Kelly
profile at New York Philharmonic
He has had a regular radio show, and well as many guest appearances.


Books for general readers


''The Role of the Scroll: An Illustrated Introduction to Scrolls in the Middle Ages''
(New York:
W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...
, 2019.)
''Capturing Music. The Story of Notation''
(New York:
W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...
, 2014.)
''First Nights: Five Musical Premieres''
(Yale University Press, 2000.)
''First Nights at the Opera''
(Yale University Press, 2004; paperback edition 2006.)
''Early Music: A Very Short Introduction''.
(Oxford University Press, 2011. German edition 2014.)
''Music Then and Now''.
(New York:
W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...
, 2012.)


Scholarly books


The Beneventan Chant
(Cambridge University Press, 1989) ** Awarded the Otto Kinkeldey Prize of the American Musicological Society. Paperback edition 2009; Italian translation in press.
The Exultet in Southern Italy
(Oxford University Press, New York, 1996)
The Ordinal of Montecassino and Benevento: Breviarium sive ordo officiorum, 11th century
(Spicilegium Friburgense 45, Freiburg (Switzerland), Presses Universitaires, 2008)
Les témoins manuscrits du chant bénéventain: le répertoire subsistant de l'ancienne liturgie de l'Italie du sud reproduit d'après tous les témoins manuscrits connus
(Paléographie musicale, Volume XXI. Solesmes: Abbaye Saint-Pierre, 1992.)
The Practice of Medieval Music.
(Ashgate Variorum series, 2010. First of two volumes of reprints.)
The Sources of Benevantan Chant.
(Ashgate Variorum series, 2011. Second of two volumes of reprints.)


Books edited by Kelly


The Cambridge History of Medieval Music
Co-edited with Mark Everist (Cambridge University Press, 2018.)
Ambrosiana at Harvard
Co-edited with Matthew Mugmon. (Harvard University Press, 2010.)
The Century of Bach and Mozart: Perspectives on Historiography, Composition, Theory, and Performance, in Honor of Christoph Wolff
Co-edited with Sean Gallagher. (Harvard University Department of Music, 2009, paperback edition 2009.)
Music in Medieval Europe
(Ashgate, 2009.) ** A 7-volume reference and reprint series of which Kelly is general editor and editor for the two volumes below.
Oral and Written Transmission in Chant
(Ashgate 2009)
Chant and its Origins
(Ashgate 2009).
La Cathédrale de Bénévent, sous la direction de Thomas Forrest Kelly, Esthétiques et Rituels des Cathédrales d'Europe
(Ghent and Amsterdam: Ludion, 1999.) ** Kelly edited the volume and contributed the introduction and one chapter.
Plainsong in the Age of Polyphony
Essays edited and with an introduction by Thomas Forrest Kelly. (Cambridge University Press, 1992; paperback edition 2009.) Kelly has also published more than 50 scholarly articles.


External links


Thomas Forrest Kelly's Website


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Thomas Forrest American musicologists 1943 births Living people Musicians from Greensboro, North Carolina Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Groton School alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni