Dean of the Conservatory
Brian Pertl, ethnomusicologist, received a B.M. in trombone performance and a B.A in English from Lawrence University. After receiving a Thomas Watson Fellowship, Brian traveled to Australia, Tibet, Nepal and India to study the use of harmonics in Aboriginal didjeridu playing and Tibetan sacred chanting. Upon his return, Brian completed his M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. He then moved to Seattle to undertake his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Washington. Before completing his degree, he was offered a position as an ethnomusicologist at Microsoft. He, along with a team of other ethnomusicologists, helped pioneer the use of music and sound in multi-media reference titles, by selecting, licensing, and captioning over a thousand music excerpts for Microsoft’s Encarta Encyclopedia, Encarta World Atlas, and Encarta Africana. For ten years, Brian managed the Media Acquisitions Group, Microsoft’s central resource for selecting, tracking, and licensing all forms of audio, images, and video.
Brian has also been an active lecturer, music educator, and performer. He has been a lecturer for Humanities Washington since 1992. He has given well over 300 presentations across the state of Washington and around the country. A few of his most popular titles include: “ Tantric Voices and Thighbone Trumpets: The Sacred Music of Tibet,” “Monkey Chants and Throat Game Songs: A Sonic Adventure of Global Proportions,” and “Didjeridus, Discos, and Dim Sum: How the World Fell in Love with a Termite-hollowed Log.” Brian was also selected by the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street project to be the State Music Scholar for their New Harmonies traveling exhibit celebrating American roots music.
Brian has been one of the leading proponents of didjeridu in the North America. He is one of the founding members of the Northwest Didjeridu Panel, which has been one of the central resources for highlighting North American didjeridu traditions since 1992. Along with Jamie Cunningham, he also was a founding member of a didjeridu-focused performance group. Brian has released five recordings, including a didjeridu instructional CD, and Cisternial, a new project with trombone virtuoso, Stuart Dempster recorded in the The Dan Harpole Cistern, a remarkable performance space with a forty-five second reverb.
As the Dean of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Brian has introduced a health and wellness initiative for musicians, expanded world music, early music, and new music offerings, and has added a course on entrepreneurship for musicians. He is a passionate advocate for a broad and deep liberal arts education as the foundation for the highest levels of musical achievement.
Contact by e-mail: brian.g.pertl@lawrence.edu
