Notts Prof. inspires LGBT Fellowship

Think of "gay music" and whose name spring to mind? Elton John?Cole Porter? Tchaikovsky? Philip Brett? Who?!

In the world of musicology (the scientific study of music) one of the most influential and controversial scholars was Philip Brett, a miner's son from Edwinstowe and Southwell Minster chorister who became "top tune tutor" (Professor of Musicology) at the University of California. He was even nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 1976 he shocked the American Musicological Society (AMS) bysaying that Benjamin Britten's sexuality influenced his composition. Some professors walked out saying his lecture was "pornography". But today, Brett's work has led hundreds of scholars to research theLGBT links and influences in music. Today it seems unnatural not to think of the influence of, say, Elton John's or k d lang's sexuality and their music. The AMS even asked Brett to co-found their Gay and Lesbian Study Group in 1989.

In this 40th anniversary month of the Stonewall riots it is appropriate to point to this event as pivotal in Brett's life and career. The riots sparked a blinding revelation, ignited by the sight of the degradation the Stonewall men received. Brett wanted to do something. Society as a whole owes a great deal to the creative input from the LGBTcommunity, so Brett, member of the music faculty at the Uni ofCalifornia at the time, and disenchanted with the state of musicology, decided to do 2 things:

1) come out, and
2) research LGBT influences on music.

Brett died of cancer aged 65 in 2002, leaving his partner of 28 years, George Hagerty, Prof. of English at the Uni of California. They were always open about their relationship and were members of the uni's LGBT group LavenderCal.

Last week, Davitt Moroney, one of Brett's students (now a music Profat the same uni himself), succeeded in gathering enough funds fromLavenderCal and other supporters to persuade the uni to set up a new research fellowship into LGBT studies and the sciences. The fund is named the Philip Brett Fund, but it'll be a couple of years before thefirst fellowship is awarded. The US is taking LGBT studies seriously at last - two weeks ago Harvard announced it will set up a Chair in LGBTStudies.Even though Philip Brett's reputation isn't wide-spread, it still exerts an important influence on the development of research into how LGBT factors affect the sciences. Davitt Moroney says there's no reason why there shouldn't be LGBT research into other sciences such as chemistry, physics or mathematics (ironically, there's anotherEdwinstowe connection here, because the father of mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing was born there).

"Gay music" is big business these days. I wonder if it would be the same if no-one had thought about sexuality's importance on today'smusic scene? I was always overwhelmed by the blatant gay overtones in George Michael's music that it didn't surprise me when he got caught in that toilet - I don't think anyone was (apart from his straight fans). If that's not an example to prove Brett's theory, I don't know what is!

In 1999 the AMS Gay and Lesbian Study Group instituted the Philip Brett Award for exceptional musicological work in the field of LGBT studies.

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