Jerome Kohl | |
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| Born | Jerome Joseph Kohl November 27, 1946 |
| Died | August 4, 2020 (aged 73) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
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| Known for | Research on Karlheinz Stockhausen |
Jerome Joseph Kohl (November 27, 1946 – August 4, 2020) was an American musicologist, academic journal editor, and recorder teacher. A music theorist at the University of Washington, he became recognized internationally as an authority on the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Kohl grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, with three siblings.[1] During high school and college, he played the clarinet in the local symphony orchestra. He received his undergraduate, and in 1971, his master's degree in music[1] from the University of Nebraska.[2]: 242 Drafted into the army, he played in an army band during the Vietnam War.[1] Afterwards, he started his doctoral studies in music theory at the University of Washington in Seattle.[1] In the 1970s, Kohl joined the Seattle Recorder Society, attending and running classes at their meetings, as well as teaching privately.[3] In 1976, Kohl co-founded and became the board president of the Early Music Guild (EMG, now called Early Music Seattle) in Seattle, attracting international players to perform in the city. The EMG held a monthly concert by local players, and in 1980, Kohl played a concert with music from the 14th century to modern times. He continued to teach recorder for the Society for decades.[1][3]
Kohl concluded his studies in 1981 with his PhD thesis,[1] titled "Serial and Non-Serial Techniques in the Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen from 1962–1968".[4] He was managing editor of the journal Perspectives of New Music from 1985 to 1999.[2] Between 2005 and 2018, he was Secretary of the Department of Classics at the University of Washington. In 2018, Kohl became Administrative Assistant at the university's Department of Political Science.[1]
His research focus was contemporary classical music. He became recognized as a world expert on the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen,[1][2] taking part in international conferences on his music.[1][5] He collaborated with Stockhausen, traveling to Europe annually, and co-authored books with him.[3] Kohl was also a contributor on Wikipedia,[6] with more than 100,000 edits,[7] creating many articles, especially about the works of Stockhausen.[8]
Kohl died in Seattle from a sudden heart attack, on August 4, 2020, at the age of 73.[2][9] His death was commemorated by a memorial tribute in Perspectives of New Music, which described his 2017 book on Stockhausen's Zeitmaße as "an astounding masterpiece".[2]
