International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance

A Non-Governmental Organization in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO

In Memoriam Dieter Christensen (1932-2017)

Dieter Christensen (1932–2017), former Secretary General of the International Council for Traditional Music (1981-2001) and General Editor of the Yearbook for Traditional Music (1982–2001), passed away in Berlin on 1 March 2017.  A distinguished ethnomusicologist, he was Professor Emeritus and Director of the Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University from 1972 until his retirement in 2002.  Professor Christensen played a pivotal role in the development of the International Council for Traditional Music into a leading international scholarly organization and in the establishment of the Yearbook for Traditional Music as a flagship journal in ethnomusicology. He made a substantial contribution to ethnomusicology in the United States and other parts of the world, and to the establishment of Columbia University as one of the leading institutions for teaching and research in the field.

The ICTM Executive Board expresses its condolences to Dieter Christensen’s family, friends, colleagues and collaborators. We remember him with respect and gratitude.

Condolences and remembrance may be sent to Carolyn Christensen, Prof. Christensen's daughter at: c.christensen@vodafonemail.de

A complete obituary by Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco will be published in the April 2017 issue of the Bulletin of the ICTM.