Jon B. Higgins - Revision history

Shaunak88: content update

2025-04-27T00:30:14Z

content update

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:00, 27 April 2025
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	{{short description\|American singer}}		{{short description\|American singer}}
			{{Other people\|John Higgins\|John Higgins (disambiguation)}}

	~~{{Other people\|John Higgins\|John Higgins (disambiguation)}}~~
	{{infobox musical artist		{{infobox musical artist
	\|birth_name = Jon Borthwick Higgins		\|birth_name = Jon Borthwick Higgins
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	\|instrument = Vocals		\|instrument = Vocals
	}}		}}
	'''~~Dr.~~ Jon Borthwick Higgins''' (September 18, 1939 – December 7, 1984), also known in India as '''Higgins Bhagavatar''', was an American musician, scholar, and teacher known principally for his rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of [[Carnatic music~~]]. He lived much of his student and professional life at [[Wesleyan University~~]].		'''Jon Borthwick Higgins''' (September 18, 1939 – December 7, 1984), also known in [[India]] as '''Higgins Bhagavatar''', was an American musician, scholar, and teacher known principally for his rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of [[Carnatic music]].

	==Early life and education==		==Early life and education==
	Born in [[Andover, Massachusetts]], Higgins had his high school education at [[Phillips Academy]], where his father taught English and his mother taught music for many years. He attended Wesleyan University and received all three of his degrees from there: a B.A. as a double major in music and history in 1962, an M.A. in [[musicology]] in 1964, and a Ph.D. in [[ethnomusicology]] in 1973.		{{unreferenced section\|date=July 2023}}
			Born in [[Andover, Massachusetts]], Higgins had his high school education at [[Phillips Academy]], where his father taught [[English language\|English]] and his mother taught music for many years. He attended [[Wesleyan University]] and received all three of his degrees from there: A [[Bachelor of Arts\|B.A.]] as a double major in music and history in 1962, an [[Master of Arts\|M.A.]] in [[musicology]] in 1964, and a [[Doctor of Philosophy\|Ph.D.]] in [[ethnomusicology]] in 1973.

	==Career==		==Career==
	He founded the Indian music studies program at [[York University]] in [[Toronto]] with [[Trichy Sankaran]] in 1971, and returned to Wesleyan in 1978 as a professor of music and director of the Center for the Arts. He continually sought to strengthen the quality of Wesleyan's curriculum, and immersed himself in numerous cultural activities inside and beyond the university community~~. He also maintained a deep relationship with his family~~.		He founded the Indian music studies program at [[York University]] in [[Toronto]] with [[Trichy Sankaran]] in 1971, and returned to Wesleyan in 1978 as a professor of music and director of the Center for the Arts. He continually sought to strengthen the quality of Wesleyan's curriculum, and immersed himself in numerous cultural activities inside and beyond the university community.

	Higgins was a singer of European and Western classical music. He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by [[Robert E. Brown]] and [[T. Ranganathan]], and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a [[Fulbright Program\|Fulbright]] scholarship to learn from Ranganathan's brother, [[T. Viswanathan]]. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the [[Tyagaraja Aradhana]], an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under their sister, renowned dancer [[T. Balasaraswati]], and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of ''[[bharatanatyam]]''. Higgins returned to India as a senior research fellow of the [[American Institute of Indian Studies]]. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician). He was killed by a drunken hit-and-run motorist on December 7, 1984, while walking his dog. He was planning to perform in South Africa in protest against its then racist [[apartheid]] regime.<ref>{{cite journal\|jstor=833771 \| volume=16 \| pages=1–6\| title=In Memory of Jon Borthwick Higgins \| journal=Asian Music \| year=1985 \| issue=2 }}</ref>		Higgins was a singer of [[Classical music\|European and Western classical music]]. He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by [[Robert E. Brown]] and [[T. Ranganathan]], and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a [[Fulbright Program\|Fulbright]] scholarship to learn from Ranganathan's brother, [[T. Viswanathan]]. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the [[Tyagaraja Aradhana]], an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under their sister, renowned dancer [[T. Balasaraswati]], and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of ''[[bharatanatyam]]''. Higgins returned to India as a senior research fellow of the [[American Institute of Indian Studies]].

	~~Higgins was so proficient in~~ Carnatic music ~~that he~~ was ~~called Higgins Bhagvathar~~. When he visited the Udupi Shri Krishna ~~temple~~, he was denied entry because of his white skin by those who managed the temple. He stood at the gate and sang in chaste Kannada the Vyasatirtha composition, ''~~‘Krishna~~ nee begane ~~baro’ ,~~'' an action ~~that was similar to~~ Kanaka Dasa's protest in 16th century. He was permitted entry ~~immediately~~, possibly to avert an 'intervention from the deity', that Kanaka Dasa's legend spoke of.<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Hegde\|first=Sanjay\|date=2022-02-07\|title=The interpretative answer to the hijab row\|language=en-IN\|work=The Hindu\|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-interpretative-answer-to-the-hijab-row/article38389321.ece\|access-date=2022-02-06\|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>		He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician). When he visited the [[Udupi Sri Krishna Matha\|Udupi Shri Krishna Temple]], he was denied entry because of his white skin by those who managed the temple. He stood at the gate and sang in chaste [[Kannada]] the Vyasatirtha composition ''‘[[Krishna Ni Begane Baaro\|Krishna nee begane baro]]’'', an action which echoed [[Kanaka Dasa\|Kanaka Dasa's]] protest in the 16th century. He was eventually permitted entry, possibly to avert an 'intervention from the deity', that Kanaka Dasa's legend spoke of.<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Hegde\|first=Sanjay\|date=2022-02-07\|title=The interpretative answer to the hijab row\|language=en-IN\|work=The Hindu\|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-interpretative-answer-to-the-hijab-row/article38389321.ece\|access-date=2022-02-06\|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

			Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during ''katcheris'' (concerts), there were some critics of his times who pointed out minor errors in pronunciation.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Jon Higgins, the bhagavatar\|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Jon-Higgins-the-bhagavatar/article15586441.ece\|newspaper=The Hindu\|date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> This did not deter Higgins, who went on to deliver ''katcheri'' broadcasts on [[All India Radio]].

	==Death==		==Death==
	Higgins was killed after being struck by a hit-and-run driver near his home in [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/09/obituaries/jon-b-higgins-expert-in-south-indian-music.html\|title=Jon B. Higgins, Expert in South Indian Music\|newspaper=The New York Times\|date=9 December 1984\|last1=Belkin\|first1=Lisa}}</ref> The Connecticut state police arrested Thomas Knight of Middlefield, Conn. and charged him with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated.		Higgins was killed after being struck by a [[Hit and run\|hit-and-run]] driver near his home in [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/09/obituaries/jon-b-higgins-expert-in-south-indian-music.html\|title=Jon B. Higgins, Expert in South Indian Music\|newspaper=The New York Times\|date=9 December 1984\|last1=Belkin\|first1=Lisa}}</ref> The Connecticut state police arrested Thomas Knight of Middlefield, Conn. and charged him with [[Second degree manslaughter\|second-degree manslaughter]] with a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Higgins was planning to perform in South Africa in protest against its then racist [[apartheid]] regime.<ref>{{cite journal\|jstor=833771 \| volume=16 \| pages=1–6\| title=In Memory of Jon Borthwick Higgins \| journal=Asian Music \| year=1985 \| issue=2 }}</ref>

	He is survived by his wife, ~~the former~~ Rhea Padis; two sons, Luke and ~~Niko~~, and a brother, Hayden, a jazz pianist known professionally as Eddie Higgins.		He is survived by his wife, Rhea Kyvele Padis; two sons, Luke and Nicholas, an ethnomusicologist<ref>{{cite news\|title=Study of jazz music will reveal American history\|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324133612/http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=March 24, 2008\|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]\|date=August 5, 2006}}</ref> at Sarah Lawrence College, and a brother, Hayden, a jazz pianist known professionally as [[Eddie Higgins]].

	==Legacy==		==Legacy==
	Higgins was much appreciated by [[Carnatic music]] connoisseurs across the world. His rendition of "Endaro Mahanubhavulu, Andariki Vandanamulu" ~~("Many are the great souls; to all of them, my salutations")~~, a famous ''[[kriti (music)\|kriti]]'' (composition) by [[Śri. Śri. Thyagaraja Swamý]] (~~a great~~ composer of [[Carnatic music]]), was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult ''kriti'' for even the people with knowledge of the [[Telugu language\|Telugu]] in which ~~the ''kriti''~~ is composed.		Higgins was much appreciated by [[Carnatic music]] connoisseurs across the world. His rendition of "Endaro Mahanubhavulu, Andariki Vandanamulu", a famous ''[[kriti (music)\|kriti]]'' (composition) by [[Tyagaraja\|Śri. Śri. Thyagaraja Swamý]] (an important composer of [[Carnatic music]]), was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult ''kriti'' for even the people with knowledge of the [[Telugu language\|Telugu]] language in which it is composed. Other of Higgins' celebrated renditions include "Siva Siva Anarada", "Krishna Nee Begane", and "Kaa Vaa Vaa", and "Amma Ravamma".

	Other of Higgins' ~~most famous~~ renditions include "Siva Siva Anarada," "Krishna Nee Begane," and "Kaa Vaa Vaa," "~~amma ravamma," and many others.~~

	Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during ''katcheris'' (concerts), there were some critics of his times who pointed out minor errors in pronunciation.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Jon Higgins, the bhagavatar\|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Jon-Higgins-the-bhagavatar/article15586441.ece\|newspaper=The Hindu\|date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> This did not deter the master, who went on to deliver ''katcheri'' broadcasts on [[All India Radio]]. His son Nicholas Higgins is an ethnomusicologist at Sarah Lawrence College and a student of Carnatic Music.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Study of jazz music will reveal American history\|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324133612/http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=March 24, 2008\|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]\|date=August 5, 2006}}</ref>

	Composer [[Terry Riley]] has credited a South Indian singing demonstration by Jon Higgins as an influence on his piece ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]'' from 1969.<ref>*Cowley, Julian. Terry Riley "Persian Surgery Dervishes" liner notes. Aguirre Records. 2017.</ref>		Composer [[Terry Riley]] has credited a South Indian singing demonstration by Jon Higgins as an influence on his piece ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]'' from 1969.<ref>*Cowley, Julian. Terry Riley "Persian Surgery Dervishes" liner notes. Aguirre Records. 2017.</ref>

	Pioneering experimental composer [[Alvin Lucier]] wrote ''In memoriam Jon Higgins : for clarinet in A and slow sweep pure wave oscillator'' in 1984 as a tribute to Higgins.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.discogs.com/Alvin-Lucier-Crossings-Three-Works-For-Classical-Instruments-And-Oscillators/release/750191\|title = Alvin Lucier – Crossings (Three Works for Classical Instruments and Oscillators) (1990, CD)}}</ref>		Pioneering experimental composer [[Alvin Lucier]] wrote ''In memoriam Jon Higgins : for clarinet in A and slow sweep pure wave oscillator'' in 1984 as a tribute to Higgins.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.discogs.com/Alvin-Lucier-Crossings-Three-Works-For-Classical-Instruments-And-Oscillators/release/750191\|title = Alvin Lucier – Crossings (Three Works for Classical Instruments and Oscillators) (1990, CD)\| website=[[Discogs]] \| year=1990 }}</ref>

	==References==		==References==
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	==External links==		==External links==
	*[http://dpnelson.web.wesleyan.edu/higgins.html Jon B. Higgins page] from David Nelson site		*[http://dpnelson.web.wesleyan.edu/higgins.html Jon B. Higgins page] from David Nelson site
	*[http://www.musicindiaonline.com/#/artist/10-Classical_Carnatic_Vocal/93-Jon_B_Higgins/ John Higgins at MusicIndia Online]		*[http://www.musicindiaonline.com/#/artist/10-Classical_Carnatic_Vocal/93-Jon_B_Higgins/ John Higgins at MusicIndia Online] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204095841/http://www.musicindiaonline.com/#/artist/10-Classical_Carnatic_Vocal/93-Jon_B_Higgins/ \|date=2012-02-04 }}

	{{Authority control}}		{{Authority control}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Jon B.}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Jon B.}}
	~~[[Category:American musicologists]]~~
	[[Category:American music educators]]		[[Category:American music educators]]
	[[Category:1939 births]]		[[Category:1939 births]]
	[[Category:1984 deaths]]		[[Category:1984 deaths]]
	[[Category:Male Carnatic singers]]		[[Category:Male Carnatic singers]]
			[[Category:Carnatic singers]]
	[[Category:Phillips Academy alumni]]		[[Category:Phillips Academy alumni]]
	[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]		[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]
	[[Category:Wesleyan University faculty]]		[[Category:Wesleyan University faculty]]
	[[Category:York University ~~faculty~~]]		[[Category:Academic staff of York University]]
	[[Category:~~Ethnomusicologists~~]]		[[Category:American ethnomusicologists]]
	[[Category:20th-century American singers]]		[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
	[[Category:20th-century musicologists]]		[[Category:20th-century American musicologists]]
	[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]		[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]

UpdateBot: robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)

2022-04-23T17:59:59Z

robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:29, 23 April 2022
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			{{short description\|American singer}}

	{{Other people\|John Higgins\|John Higgins (disambiguation)}}		{{Other people\|John Higgins\|John Higgins (disambiguation)}}
	{{infobox musical artist		{{infobox musical artist
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	Higgins was a singer of European and Western classical music. He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by [[Robert E. Brown]] and [[T. Ranganathan]], and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a [[Fulbright Program\|Fulbright]] scholarship to learn from Ranganathan's brother, [[T. Viswanathan]]. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the [[Tyagaraja Aradhana]], an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under their sister, renowned dancer [[T. Balasaraswati]], and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of ''[[bharatanatyam]]''. Higgins returned to India as a senior research fellow of the [[American Institute of Indian Studies]]. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician). He was killed by a drunken hit-and-run motorist on December 7, 1984, while walking his dog. He was planning to perform in South Africa in protest against its then racist [[apartheid]] regime.<ref>{{cite journal\|jstor=833771 \| volume=16 \| pages=1–6\| title=In Memory of Jon Borthwick Higgins \| journal=Asian Music \| year=1985 \| issue=2 }}</ref>		Higgins was a singer of European and Western classical music. He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by [[Robert E. Brown]] and [[T. Ranganathan]], and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a [[Fulbright Program\|Fulbright]] scholarship to learn from Ranganathan's brother, [[T. Viswanathan]]. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the [[Tyagaraja Aradhana]], an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under their sister, renowned dancer [[T. Balasaraswati]], and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of ''[[bharatanatyam]]''. Higgins returned to India as a senior research fellow of the [[American Institute of Indian Studies]]. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician). He was killed by a drunken hit-and-run motorist on December 7, 1984, while walking his dog. He was planning to perform in South Africa in protest against its then racist [[apartheid]] regime.<ref>{{cite journal\|jstor=833771 \| volume=16 \| pages=1–6\| title=In Memory of Jon Borthwick Higgins \| journal=Asian Music \| year=1985 \| issue=2 }}</ref>

			Higgins was so proficient in Carnatic music that he was called Higgins Bhagvathar. When he visited the Udupi Shri Krishna temple, he was denied entry because of his white skin by those who managed the temple. He stood at the gate and sang in chaste Kannada the Vyasatirtha composition, ''‘Krishna nee begane baro’ ,'' an action that was similar to Kanaka Dasa's protest in 16th century. He was permitted entry immediately, possibly to avert an 'intervention from the deity', that Kanaka Dasa's legend spoke of.<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Hegde\|first=Sanjay\|date=2022-02-07\|title=The interpretative answer to the hijab row\|language=en-IN\|work=The Hindu\|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-interpretative-answer-to-the-hijab-row/article38389321.ece\|access-date=2022-02-06\|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

	==Death==		==Death==
	Higgins was killed after being struck by a hit-and-run driver near his home in [[Middletown, Connecticut.]]<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/09/obituaries/jon-b-higgins-expert-in-south-indian-music.html</ref> The Connecticut state police arrested Thomas Knight of Middlefield, Conn., and charged him with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated.		Higgins was killed after being struck by a hit-and-run driver near his home in [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/09/obituaries/jon-b-higgins-expert-in-south-indian-music.html\|title=Jon B. Higgins, Expert in South Indian Music\|newspaper=The New York Times\|date=9 December 1984\|last1=Belkin\|first1=Lisa}}</ref> The Connecticut state police arrested Thomas Knight of Middlefield, Conn. and charged him with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

	He is survived by his wife, the former Rhea Padis; two sons, Luke and Niko, and a brother, Hayden, a jazz pianist known professionally as Eddie Higgins.		He is survived by his wife, the former Rhea Padis; two sons, Luke and Niko, and a brother, Hayden, a jazz pianist known professionally as Eddie Higgins.

	==Legacy==		==Legacy==
	Higgins was much appreciated by [[Carnatic music]] connoisseurs across the world. His rendition of "Endaro Mahanubhavulu, Andariki Vandanamulu" ("Many are the great souls; to all of them, my salutations"), a famous ''[[kriti]]'' (composition) by [[Śri. Śri. Thyagaraja Swamý]] (a great composer of [[Carnatic music]]), was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult ''kriti'' for even the people with knowledge of the [[Telugu language\|Telugu]] in which the ''kriti'' is composed.		Higgins was much appreciated by [[Carnatic music]] connoisseurs across the world. His rendition of "Endaro Mahanubhavulu, Andariki Vandanamulu" ("Many are the great souls; to all of them, my salutations"), a famous ''[[kriti (music)\|kriti]]'' (composition) by [[Śri. Śri. Thyagaraja Swamý]] (a great composer of [[Carnatic music]]), was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult ''kriti'' for even the people with knowledge of the [[Telugu language\|Telugu]] in which the ''kriti'' is composed.

	Other of Higgins' most famous renditions include "Siva Siva Anarada," "Krishna Nee Begane," and "Kaa Vaa Vaa," "amma ravamma," and many others.		Other of Higgins' most famous renditions include "Siva Siva Anarada," "Krishna Nee Begane," and "Kaa Vaa Vaa," "amma ravamma," and many others.
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	Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during ''katcheris'' (concerts), there were some critics of his times who pointed out minor errors in pronunciation.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Jon Higgins, the bhagavatar\|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Jon-Higgins-the-bhagavatar/article15586441.ece\|newspaper=The Hindu\|date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> This did not deter the master, who went on to deliver ''katcheri'' broadcasts on [[All India Radio]]. His son Nicholas Higgins is an ethnomusicologist at Sarah Lawrence College and a student of Carnatic Music.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Study of jazz music will reveal American history\|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324133612/http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=March 24, 2008\|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]\|date=August 5, 2006}}</ref>		Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during ''katcheris'' (concerts), there were some critics of his times who pointed out minor errors in pronunciation.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Jon Higgins, the bhagavatar\|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Jon-Higgins-the-bhagavatar/article15586441.ece\|newspaper=The Hindu\|date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> This did not deter the master, who went on to deliver ''katcheri'' broadcasts on [[All India Radio]]. His son Nicholas Higgins is an ethnomusicologist at Sarah Lawrence College and a student of Carnatic Music.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Study of jazz music will reveal American history\|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324133612/http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=March 24, 2008\|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]\|date=August 5, 2006}}</ref>

	Composer [[Terry Riley]] has credited a South Indian singing demonstration by Jon Higgins as an influence on his piece ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]'' from 1969. <ref>*Cowley, Julian. Terry Riley "Persian Surgery Dervishes" liner notes. Aguirre Records. 2017.</ref>		Composer [[Terry Riley]] has credited a South Indian singing demonstration by Jon Higgins as an influence on his piece ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]'' from 1969.<ref>*Cowley, Julian. Terry Riley "Persian Surgery Dervishes" liner notes. Aguirre Records. 2017.</ref>

	Pioneering experimental composer [[Alvin Lucier]] wrote ''In memoriam Jon Higgins : for clarinet in A and slow sweep pure wave oscillator'' in 1984 as a tribute to Higgins.<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Alvin-Lucier-Crossings-Three-Works-For-Classical-Instruments-And-Oscillators/release/750191</ref>		Pioneering experimental composer [[Alvin Lucier]] wrote ''In memoriam Jon Higgins : for clarinet in A and slow sweep pure wave oscillator'' in 1984 as a tribute to Higgins.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.discogs.com/Alvin-Lucier-Crossings-Three-Works-For-Classical-Instruments-And-Oscillators/release/750191\|title = Alvin Lucier – Crossings (Three Works for Classical Instruments and Oscillators) (1990, CD)}}</ref>

	==References==		==References==
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	==Bibliography==		==Bibliography==
	*Higgins, Jon B. (1964). "An Analysis of Some Principles of South Indian Drumming, Based on the Bharata śabda vādya pradāyini by K. Muniswami. M.A. thesis. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.		*Higgins, Jon B. (1964). "An Analysis of Some Principles of South Indian Drumming, Based on the Bharata śabda vādya pradāyini by K. Muniswami. M.A. thesis. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.
	*Higgins, Jon B. (1968). "An American in Madras." ''Asian Music'', v. 1, no. 1 (Winter ~~1968-69~~), pp. 4–11.		*Higgins, Jon B. (1968). "An American in Madras." ''Asian Music'', v. 1, no. 1 (Winter 1968–69), pp. 4–11.
	*Higgins, Jon B. (1973). ''The Music of Bharata Nāṭyam''. Ph.D. dissertation. 2 volumes. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.		*Higgins, Jon B. (1973). ''The Music of Bharata Nāṭyam''. Ph.D. dissertation. 2 volumes. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.

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	[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]		[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]
	[[Category:Wesleyan University faculty]]		[[Category:Wesleyan University faculty]]
	~~[[Category:Fulbright Scholars]]~~
	[[Category:York University faculty]]		[[Category:York University faculty]]
	[[Category:Ethnomusicologists]]		[[Category:Ethnomusicologists]]
	~~[[Category:American male singers]]~~
	[[Category:20th-century American singers]]		[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
	[[Category:20th-century musicologists]]		[[Category:20th-century musicologists]]
	[[Category:20th-century male singers]]		[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]

>Ninad Prabhu at 04:44, 17 June 2021

2021-06-17T04:44:45Z

New page

{{Other people|John Higgins|John Higgins (disambiguation)}}
{{infobox musical artist
|birth_name = Jon Borthwick Higgins
|birth_date = {{birth date|1939|9|18}}
|birth_place = [[Andover, Massachusetts]]
|image =
|death_date = {{death date and age|1984|12|7|1939|9|18}}
|background = solo_singer
|instrument = Vocals
}}
'''Dr. Jon Borthwick Higgins''' (September 18, 1939 – December 7, 1984), also known in India as '''Higgins Bhagavatar''', was an American musician, scholar, and teacher known principally for his rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of [[Carnatic music]]. He lived much of his student and professional life at [[Wesleyan University]].

==Early life and education==
Born in [[Andover, Massachusetts]], Higgins had his high school education at [[Phillips Academy]], where his father taught English and his mother taught music for many years. He attended Wesleyan University and received all three of his degrees from there: a B.A. as a double major in music and history in 1962, an M.A. in [[musicology]] in 1964, and a Ph.D. in [[ethnomusicology]] in 1973.

==Career==
He founded the Indian music studies program at [[York University]] in [[Toronto]] with [[Trichy Sankaran]] in 1971, and returned to Wesleyan in 1978 as a professor of music and director of the Center for the Arts. He continually sought to strengthen the quality of Wesleyan's curriculum, and immersed himself in numerous cultural activities inside and beyond the university community. He also maintained a deep relationship with his family.

Higgins was a singer of European and Western classical music. He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by [[Robert E. Brown]] and [[T. Ranganathan]], and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a [[Fulbright Program|Fulbright]] scholarship to learn from Ranganathan's brother, [[T. Viswanathan]]. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the [[Tyagaraja Aradhana]], an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under their sister, renowned dancer [[T. Balasaraswati]], and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of ''[[bharatanatyam]]''. Higgins returned to India as a senior research fellow of the [[American Institute of Indian Studies]]. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician). He was killed by a drunken hit-and-run motorist on December 7, 1984, while walking his dog. He was planning to perform in South Africa in protest against its then racist [[apartheid]] regime.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=833771 | volume=16 | pages=1–6| title=In Memory of Jon Borthwick Higgins | journal=Asian Music | year=1985 | issue=2 }}</ref>

==Death==
Higgins was killed after being struck by a hit-and-run driver near his home in [[Middletown, Connecticut.]]<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/09/obituaries/jon-b-higgins-expert-in-south-indian-music.html</ref> The Connecticut state police arrested Thomas Knight of Middlefield, Conn., and charged him with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

He is survived by his wife, the former Rhea Padis; two sons, Luke and Niko, and a brother, Hayden, a jazz pianist known professionally as Eddie Higgins.

==Legacy==
Higgins was much appreciated by [[Carnatic music]] connoisseurs across the world. His rendition of "Endaro Mahanubhavulu, Andariki Vandanamulu" ("Many are the great souls; to all of them, my salutations"), a famous ''[[kriti]]'' (composition) by [[Śri. Śri. Thyagaraja Swamý]] (a great composer of [[Carnatic music]]), was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult ''kriti'' for even the people with knowledge of the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] in which the ''kriti'' is composed.

Other of Higgins' most famous renditions include "Siva Siva Anarada," "Krishna Nee Begane," and "Kaa Vaa Vaa," "amma ravamma," and many others.

Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during ''katcheris'' (concerts), there were some critics of his times who pointed out minor errors in pronunciation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jon Higgins, the bhagavatar|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Jon-Higgins-the-bhagavatar/article15586441.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> This did not deter the master, who went on to deliver ''katcheri'' broadcasts on [[All India Radio]]. His son Nicholas Higgins is an ethnomusicologist at Sarah Lawrence College and a student of Carnatic Music.<ref>{{cite news|title=Study of jazz music will reveal American history|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324133612/http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080507950200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 24, 2008|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=August 5, 2006}}</ref>

Composer [[Terry Riley]] has credited a South Indian singing demonstration by Jon Higgins as an influence on his piece ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]'' from 1969. <ref>*Cowley, Julian. Terry Riley "Persian Surgery Dervishes" liner notes. Aguirre Records. 2017.</ref>

Pioneering experimental composer [[Alvin Lucier]] wrote ''In memoriam Jon Higgins : for clarinet in A and slow sweep pure wave oscillator'' in 1984 as a tribute to Higgins.<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Alvin-Lucier-Crossings-Three-Works-For-Classical-Instruments-And-Oscillators/release/750191</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
*Higgins, Jon B. (1964). "An Analysis of Some Principles of South Indian Drumming, Based on the Bharata śabda vādya pradāyini by K. Muniswami. M.A. thesis. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.
*Higgins, Jon B. (1968). "An American in Madras." ''Asian Music'', v. 1, no. 1 (Winter 1968-69), pp. 4–11.
*Higgins, Jon B. (1973). ''The Music of Bharata Nāṭyam''. Ph.D. dissertation. 2 volumes. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.

==External links==
*[http://dpnelson.web.wesleyan.edu/higgins.html Jon B. Higgins page] from David Nelson site
*[http://www.musicindiaonline.com/#/artist/10-Classical_Carnatic_Vocal/93-Jon_B_Higgins/ John Higgins at MusicIndia Online]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Jon B.}}
[[Category:American musicologists]]
[[Category:American music educators]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:Male Carnatic singers]]
[[Category:Phillips Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]
[[Category:Wesleyan University faculty]]
[[Category:Fulbright Scholars]]
[[Category:York University faculty]]
[[Category:Ethnomusicologists]]
[[Category:American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:20th-century musicologists]]
[[Category:20th-century male singers]]