Paul Robert Laird (born October 26, 1958) is an American
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
at the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
born in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
.
Education
Raised in
Bridgewater Township, New Jersey
Bridgewater Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is both a regional commercial hub for Central Jersey, Central New Jersey (home to Bridgewater Comm ...
, Laird graduated in 1976 from
Bridgewater-Raritan High School East
Bridgewater-Raritan High School (commonly abbreviated as BRHS) is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school. It is the lone secondary school of the Bridgewater ...
, where he participated in the New Jersey All-State Orchestra.
Laird holds a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in music from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
. His research interests include the Spanish and Latin American
villancico
The ''villancico'' (Spanish, ) or vilancete (Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, Pedro ...
,
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
, the
Broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
, and
Baroque cello. He has taught at
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
,
Binghamton University
The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...
and the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...
. Reviewer Alvaro Torrente described Laird's book ''Towards a History of the Spanish Villancico'' as "a milestone in the study of the villancico."
Publications
He directs the Instrumental Collegium Musicum and is active as a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
cellist, performing with the Spencer Consort. In August 2002, he won a University of Kansas W. T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.
His 2004 book ''The Baroque
Cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
Revival: An Oral History'' features interviews with more than 40 cellists and instrument makers.
[Freiberg, Sarah (June–July 2005). "The Baroque Cello Revival: An Oral History", ''Strings'' 20 (1): 152–53.] His current project include two studies of the musical theater of
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...
and the publication of the
orchestral
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
score of the Broadway show ''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
''.
Laird was the director of the Division of Musicology at the University of Kansas from 2000 until 2009. He has taught at the University of Kansas since 1994
and has taught four courses on music research in
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
for the
Universidad de Cuenca
The University of Cuenca (Spanish: ''Universidad de Cuenca'') is an Ecuadorian university located in Cuenca. University of Cuenca is the principal university of Azuay Province. The university was officially founded in 1867, being the first unive ...
.
Publications
* ''Towards a History of the Spanish Villancico'' (Harmonie Park Press, 1997)
* ''Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research'' (Routledge, 2002)
* ''The Baroque Cello Revival: An Oral History'' (Scarecrow Press, 2004)
* ''Res musicae: Essays in Honor of James W. Pruett'' (Harmonie Park Press, 2001; co-editor)
* ''Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical'' (Scarecrow Press, 2007)
* ''On Bunker's Hill: Essays in Honor of J. Bunker Clark'' (Harmonie Park Press, 2007)
* ''The Cambridge Companion to the Musical'' (Cambridge University Press, 2002; co-editor with William A. Everett, second edition, 2008)
* ''Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms'' (Pendragon Press, 2010)
* ''WICKED: A Musical Biography'' (Scarecrow Press, 2011)
Other literary works
Laird has contributed to:
* ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (2nd ed.)
* ''Anuario musical''
* ''Nassarre''
* ''Revista de Musicología''
* ''Early Music''
* ''Australian Journal of Musicology''
* ''CMS Symposium''
* ''MLA Notes''
* ''Historical Performance''
* ''American Music''
* ''American Record Guide''
* ''Continuo Magazine''
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Paul
1958 births
Living people
Bridgewater-Raritan High School alumni
Musicians from New Jersey
American musicologists
People from Louisville, Kentucky
People from Bridgewater Township, New Jersey
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Ohio State University alumni
Pennsylvania State University faculty
Binghamton University faculty
University of Denver faculty
University of Kansas faculty