Martin Hatch
Wesleyan University: BA’64, MA’69; Cornell University PhD’80 (Music and Asian Studies)
As a professor in Cornell’s Department of Music and Department of Asian Studies from 1980 until his retirement in 2011, Martin Hatch initiated and taught courses in, and wrote about the history and cultural significance of the performing arts and musical genres around the world. A significant portion of his teaching focused on Indonesia, but he also taught courses on musical cultures other areas of Asia and Africa, and on popular music and jazz.
In keeping with the principle that scholarship is inextricably linked with “practice”, Hatch founded the Cornell Gamelan Ensemble (1972) and the Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble (2001) and was instrumental in founding the Cornell Steel Band and samba ensembles; he directed or co-directed and performed in those ensembles. As an emeritus professor, Hatch continues to serve on the Executive Committee of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program and as faculty coordinator for the Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia at Cornell. He was one of the founding members of the American Institute for Indonesian Studies and continues to serve on its executive committee as its treasurer. Hatch was the editor (38 issues) of the journal Asian Music from 1985 to 2004. From 1972 to 1990 he wrote two dozen published articles and translations (Indonesian and Javanese to English) on Indonesian music and American popular music and jazz for journals and encyclopedias.
Hatch served as a member of the Town of Dryden Planning Board (2007-2019); he was the vice president of the board of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins and served on its Environmental Program Committee County (2009-2018); he been involved in food availability and policy issues in Tompkins County while serving on the board of the Caroline Food Pantry, the Brooktondale Community Center, and Friendship Donations Network, a local “food rescue” organization. He has been on the board of HeatSmart Tompkins since its founding in 2015.
Over the course of the past 49 years, he and his wife, Susan, have lived, grown vegetables, and raised sheep and two children on a small portion of a former dairy farm in the Town of Dryden, New York.
As a professor in Cornell’s Department of Music and Department of Asian Studies from 1980 until his retirement in 2011, Martin Hatch initiated and taught courses in, and wrote about the history and cultural significance of the performing arts and musical genres around the world. A significant portion of his teaching focused on Indonesia, but he also taught courses on musical cultures other areas of Asia and Africa, and on popular music and jazz.
In keeping with the principle that scholarship is inextricably linked with “practice”, Hatch founded the Cornell Gamelan Ensemble (1972) and the Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble (2001) and was instrumental in founding the Cornell Steel Band and samba ensembles; he directed or co-directed and performed in those ensembles. As an emeritus professor, Hatch continues to serve on the Executive Committee of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program and as faculty coordinator for the Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia at Cornell. He was one of the founding members of the American Institute for Indonesian Studies and continues to serve on its executive committee as its treasurer. Hatch was the editor (38 issues) of the journal Asian Music from 1985 to 2004. From 1972 to 1990 he wrote two dozen published articles and translations (Indonesian and Javanese to English) on Indonesian music and American popular music and jazz for journals and encyclopedias.
Hatch served as a member of the Town of Dryden Planning Board (2007-2019); he was the vice president of the board of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins and served on its Environmental Program Committee County (2009-2018); he been involved in food availability and policy issues in Tompkins County while serving on the board of the Caroline Food Pantry, the Brooktondale Community Center, and Friendship Donations Network, a local “food rescue” organization. He has been on the board of HeatSmart Tompkins since its founding in 2015.
Over the course of the past 49 years, he and his wife, Susan, have lived, grown vegetables, and raised sheep and two children on a small portion of a former dairy farm in the Town of Dryden, New York.