Jeremy N. Grimshaw

Jeremy N. Grimshaw is an assistant professor in the School of Music. He specializes in the areas of musicology and ethnomusicology, and pursues research in American experimental music of the twentieth century and Balinese gamelan music.

Dr. Grimshaw received his PhD in Musicology, as well as a Certificate in World Music, from the Eastman School of Music. His scholarly articles have appeared in the Musical Quarterly, American Music, The Journal of Musicological Research, and other publications, and he has presented papers on both Western and Eastern musical topics at conferences of The International Musicological Society, the American Musicological Society, the Society for American Music, and other organizations.

Shortly after his arrival at BYU in the fall of 2007, Dr. Grimshaw commissioned the construction of a new Balinese gamelan (percussion orchestra) from the shop of I Wayan Berata, Bali's most prestigious composer and instrument maker. During the subsequent school year he became the founding director of Gamelan Bintang Wahyu, BYU's Balinese percussion orchestra. Grimshaw also began to teach a new class for the honors program, which focused on the music of Indonesia.

In 2010 Dr. Grimshaw completed a general-audience book on Balinese music titled The Island of Bali is Littered with Prayers.

Starting at the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Grimshaw has extensively researched the influential American minimalist composer La Monte Young. His biography of Young, Draw a Straight Line and Follow It: The Music and Mysticism of La Monte Young, was published by Oxford University Press in January of 2012. In his book, Grimshaw expounds upon the genius behind La Monte's music, explaining why many have named Young the founding father of minimalism in music. Following Young's story from being raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho and Utah, to his successful career in New York City, Grimshaw shows how the era of minimalism was born in music.

In 2011 Dr. Grimshaw and other faculty and staff at BYU combined to complete the Simon Shaheen Residency Project, where Middle Eastern musicians came to BYU and hosted workshops about and performed Arabic music. The project was funded in part by the Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration in the Arts.

A year later, in 2012, Grimshaw was a recipient of the Young Scholar Award.

News Links

• BYU Magazine - The Biggest Composer You've Never Heard Of (Spring 2012)
• The Daily Universe - Travel to Bali with the Bintang Wahyu (12 April 2011)
• The Daily Herald - Having a bali: BYU professor writes book about learning Balinese music (18 April 2010)
• BYU News - From the shores of Utah Lake to the music of Coldplay and U2 (3 January 2012)
• The Daily Herald - Minimalist mystery: BYU professor attempts to shed light on composer La Monte Young (28 January 2012)

References

• Tian, Julia Jin. "In-new-vative Classes." Insight. Brigham Young University. April 2008:22.