Marc A Perlman

Marc A Perlman is an Associate Professor of Music at Brown University specializing in ethnomusicology with deep expertise in Indonesian gamelan traditions. Before joining Brown, he held positions at Cornell University as a Fellow of the Society for the Humanities and taught at Tufts University and in Indonesia where he founded the Journal of the Indonesian Musicological Society. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Music and is a past president of the Northeast Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

Perlman's academic training includes:

• PhD in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University (1994)
• MA in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University (1978)
• BA from Hampshire College (1974)

His research spans ethnomusicology, music psychology, and music theory with primary focus on Indonesian music—particularly Javanese gamelan—but extends to Burmese, Irish, and Indian traditions. His interdisciplinary methodology integrates anthropology, cognitive psychology, post-colonial studies, and science and technology studies to examine topics including musical cognition, intellectual property law, historical performance practices, and the cultural impact of music technology. This broad approach reveals consistent interest in how musical structures encode social meaning across diverse cultural contexts.

Perlman's publication history demonstrates sustained engagement with Southeast Asian music while progressively incorporating cognitive and technological perspectives. His early work focused on Javanese theory and performance practice, evolving toward cross-cultural comparisons (e.g., French Baroque vs. Melanesian music) and experimental psychology studies. Later publications examine audiophilia epistemology and music technology's societal impact, reflecting his unique synthesis of ethnomusicological fieldwork with cognitive science and STS frameworks.

His scholarly contributions have been recognized with major awards including:

• Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP
• Lewis Lockwood Award from American Musicological Society
• Wallace Berry Award from Society for Music Theory
• Alan Merriam Prize from Society for Ethnomusicology
• Benda Prize Finalist from Association for Asian Studies

Perlman has secured substantial research funding from prestigious institutions including Fulbright-Hays, National Humanities Center, and Stanford Humanities Center. His grant portfolio demonstrates consistent external validation of his interdisciplinary approach:

• Brown University Salomon Research Award (2000)
• Brown University Henry Merritt Wriston Fellowship (2004)
• Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Research Grant (1983)
• Southeast Asia Council Isolated Scholar Award (1993)
• Asian Cultural Council grant (1995)
• American Philosophical Society grant (2001)
• National Humanities Center Fellowship (2001)
• University of Texas Harrington Faculty Fellowship (2001)
• Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship (2001)