The Amherst Chirp

Typically a source for vaguely important campus-centered news, the Amherst College Intranet announcement page gave word today of the death of one of Amherst’s professors.

Mirjana Lausevic, or Minja as she was affectionately called , died on Sunday, 15 July of undisclosed causes. She came to Amherst in 2006 as a Valentine Professor, teaching Music 11 during Fall 2006 semester and Music 6 – Music in American Life in Spring 2007. I took both classes with her, both of which were dual-taught with her husband, Tim Eriksen.

Minja and her husband were both extremely influential people for me during my freshman year. Taking Music 11 helped to eliminate my distaste for singing in front – or with – others and inspired a what I hope to be life-long love of Sacred Harp singing. I am extremely grateful for these things.

Minja was a brilliant ethnomusicologist. One of the greatest lessons I learned from her and Tim came from her revelations on music and culture. On a few occasions, the two of them sang a Baltic love song together in front of their classes. To the students’ ears, the song held an air of melancholy and distress. But Minja revealed something to us: Though the song was indeed in a minor key and sounded quite unsettling to our ears, the fact that she and Tim were singing it together, their voices supporting each other, made the song less sorrowful and more uplifting. The fact that the students interpreted the song as an unhappy one was attributed solely to the minor key’s role in Western culture. The song did not have the same interpretation where it was originally sung.

So I suppose that there is a message here. If Minja’s death is a minor key, something sad and unfortunate, Minja’s life – a life spent on learning and teaching the joys of music – is the uplifting, misunderstood component of it all.

(Thanks to http://www.sheldonfinlay.com/dynamic/php/zphoto/wmshc-2007/page/3/ for the picture)

UPDATE: David Schneider, head of the Music department at Amherst, sent out an email to all music majors and former students of Minja:

Dear Music Majors and Former Students of Professor Lausevic,

It is my sad duty to report that Mirjana (Minja) Lausevic, Valentine
Professor of Music 2006-’07, passed away on Sunday July 15th. Her death
was due to what I understand was a rather sudden return and quick
progression of an illness (cancer, I believe) that she had battled in
past years. She is survived by her husband Tim Eriksen (Amherst Class of
‘89) and her two children, Anja (3) and Luka (5). At this point it looks
as if Tim and the children will remain in the Northampton/Hadley area
where they have a number of close friends.

As of now there is no date set for a memorial service, but we willdo our best to let you know if one is scheduled. This is also information that is likely to appear on the College Intranet Announcements.

In sorrow–

Sincerely yours,
David Schneider

 

UPDATE 25 July: A memorial service for Professor Lausevic will be held on Saturday 28 July in Greenfield. There, in addition to sacred harp singing as well as a potluck dinner, donations will be accepted for the Luka and Anja Eriksen Education Fund. Details here.