A Balkan Music Journey: Mary Cay Brass and Her Emergence as a Music Educator and Peacebuilder from 1960s to the 1990s

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the life of Mary Cay Brass and her development as a Balkan music enthusiast, her time as a Fulbright scholar in Yugoslavia, her subsequent career as a global music educator, and her emergence as a peacebuilder from the 1960s to the 1990s. Primary source materials included interviews with Brass and her personal field notes, publications, and photos. Secondary sources consisted of articles and books about Balkan music. Two research questions guided this study: (1) How did the Balkan music experiences contribute to the development of Mary Cay Brass as a music educator and peacebuilding facilitator? (2) What are the key stories surrounding Mary Cay Brass’s singing and peacebuilding experiences from the 1960s to the 1990s? Through biographic-narrative analyses and structural hypotheses, I determined that a strong interest in Balkan music, an affinity for teaching cultural understanding, and using music and peacebuilding emerged as the reasons for Brass’s career development.