It is with sadness that I share the news of the death of faculty member Aida Huseynova in Istanbul on Monday, June 20, at age 57.
Born in Azerbaijan, Dr. Huseynova first arrived in Bloomington in 2000 as part of a Baku State University – Indiana University Exchange Program Fellowship (sponsored by the U.S. Department of State). Her project included sharing information on Azerbaijani jazz mugham and learning about American jazz through consultation with the late distinguished professor David Baker.
Dr. Huseynova created and taught extraordinary courses in Music of the Silk Road, East-West Encounters in Music, Popular Music of Europe and Asia, and Music of Russia as well as music theory. Given her diverse background and experience, she presented an outstanding role model for students at IU. Dr. Huseynova was an excellent and popular professor with long waitlists for her classes who made an impact on hundreds of students. Additionally, she was a member of the Music-Business-Peace collaboration that held conferences in 2017 and 2018, and the IU interdisciplinary Platform: Global Popular Music Team, which was made possible by a Mellon grant in 2018.
Huseynova received her PhD in Musicology from Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1992 and her research interests included Shostakovich, twentieth-century Azerbaijani music, and multiculturalism. Prior to her appointment at IU, she held various appointments in the Musicology Department of Baku Music Academy, concluding with an appointment as professor of musicology.
Beginning in 2006, Huseynova served as a research advisor for the Silk Road Ensemble under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma, and in 2016 she became a research advisor for the Mark Morris Dance Group. She toured with both ensembles throughout the United States and in Canada, France, and Qatar, giving pre-concert talks and participating in workshops.
Dr. Huseynova also served as a research advisor for the Kronos Quartet and the group’s collaboration with Azerbaijani musicians. As a part of this project, she gave pre-concert talks and conducted workshops at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley in 2012. In addition, she collaborated with the Aga Khan Music Initiative and was part of the residencies of Azerbaijani musicians at Dartmouth College and Brandeis Universities between 2010 and 2015.
An instinctive and gifted pianist, Dr. Huseynova gave recitals in Azerbaijan, Russia, and the United States, and was prominently featured in concerts throughout her time in Bloomington. She performed as a soloist and member of the Bloomington-based Silk Road Ensemble and East-West Music Group, gave recitals at Indiana University and in the surrounding community featuring music of Azerbaijani composers and Turkish composers, and participated in festivals and ceremonies, including a performance for the Turkish ambassador.
Huseynova’s books, articles, and multimedia projects have been published in Azerbaijan, the United States, Bulgaria, Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Russia. She authored the monograph Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera (Indiana University Press, 2016). Inna Naroditskaya, professor at Northwestern University, explained the value of Huseynova’s book thus: “Not only is the book interesting for anyone studying Azerbaijani music and culture, as well as to music theorists overall, but it might be relevant to scholars exploring questions of musical nationalism in newly independent states, the intersection of West and East, the different combination, mixture, fusion of oral and written, composed and improvised musical traditions.”
Huseynova contributed to Music of Central Asia (Indiana University Press, 2016), Cambridge Choral Reader (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Encyclopedia of Women in Islamic Cultures (Brill, 2007), and German music encyclopedia Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (Barenreiter-Verlag, 2003–2005). She presented lectures on many campuses in the United States and Europe, including Indiana, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Ohio State, Northwestern, Purdue, the University of California—Berkeley, Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin—Madison, and Dartmouth and at Cambridge and York in the United Kingdom.
Her awards include an Andrew W. Mellon grant (2015), a Fulbright Fellowship (2007–08), and a fellowship from the Junior Faculty Development Program (2001–02) sponsored by the U.S. State Department. From 2017 to 2020, she was elected to and then served the College Music Society board of directors as the board member for Music in General Studies.
Aida’s contributions to the Jacobs School, to Indiana University, and to the Silk Road musical and scholarly community are legion.
Memorial arrangements are pending. As further information comes available, we will be sure to share.
May her memory be a blessing.
Abra Bush
David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean