Ethnomusicologist Martin Hatch, professor of music emeritus, dies at 83

Martin F. Hatch Jr., Ph.D. '80, professor of music emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), died Aug. 23 in Ithaca, New York. He was 83.

From 1980 until his retirement in 2011, Hatch taught in the Department of Music and the Department of Asian Studies, specializing in the musical traditions of Africa and Asia, music theory, the history of American music, and ethnomusicology. He founded the Cornell Gamelan Ensemble in 1972 and the Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble in 2001 and was active with the Cornell Southeast Asia Program and Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia.

Devoting his career to the study and teaching of Indonesian music, particularly the gamelan traditions of Java and Bali, Hatch was influential in the field of Indonesian studies, helping to introduce Indonesian music and culture to generations of American students and university music programs across the country.

At Cornell, Hatch was instrumental in expanding the scope of traditions studied in the Department of Music.

"Marty Hatch was the conscience and in many ways the future of the department, always pushing the faculty to think about music beyond the Western art music canon," said Judith Peraino, professor of music (A&S). "He was a pioneer in offering courses that covered jazz and popular music and led the way to the rich and diverse faculty we have now."

Hatch's years in the music department "permanently changed the soundscape of Lincoln Hall," said Andrew Hicks, associate professor of music (A&S) and interim department chair.

"He encouraged his colleagues and students alike to hear all the different kinds of music that already enlivened Ithaca and its environs, and he devoted his efforts to increasing the diverse musical idioms and traditions that would - and still do - resound in Lincoln's practice rooms, rehearsal halls and classrooms."

Hatch's sometimes stubborn insistence on "focusing on what really matters," said Christopher Miller, senior lecturer of music (A&S), "enabled him to bring about the changes he did, in the music department, across campus and in the community."

Hatch loved teaching and offered an array of topics across vast geographies and historical periods, in both the Department of Music and in the Department of Asian Studies, said Steven Pond, associate professor of music emeritus (A&S).

"Marty's teaching linked scholarly inquiry with hands-on practice, and he founded and resourced most of Cornell's non-Western ensembles, always with an eye beyond teaching the notes," Pond said. "Music making became a vehicle to deepen students' cultural understanding and, ultimately, empathy. Marty was a humanitarian through and through."

Hatch was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 17, 1941. He grew up with his sister and parents in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, and followed his early love of music to Wesleyan University. He earned his Ph.D. in music at Cornell and stayed as a professor of ethnomusicology for more than 40 years.

Hatch's career was marked by generosity, and his teaching and advocacy reverberate through international music communities, his colleagues said.

"Since Professor Hatch's death on 23 August, stories and memories of his work and influence have been shared across various Southeast Asian performing arts sites all over the world," said Kathryn "Kitsie" Emerson '83, director of Griya Seni Ekalayain Indonesia; Hatch influenced her music career after she graduated from Cornell with a music major, she said. "Once Marty believed in you, he did so unconditionally and would go well out of his way to help you fulfill your own dreams."

As one of the founding members of the American Institute for Indonesian Studies, Hatch provided key leadership in promoting scholarly exchange between Indonesian and U.S. researchers. He served as editor of the Society for Asian Music's flagship journal, Asian Music, for 19 years. Each year, the journal awards the Martin Hatch Prizeto the best student paper on an Asian music or performance topic.

Hatch served in many local government and nonprofit roles in Ithaca, Dryden and Tompkins County, including the Dryden Town Planning Board, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and the Caroline Food Pantry.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Ferris Hatch, daughters Imogene and Leila, and two grandchildren.

Kate Blackwood is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.