Mellonee Burnim

Mellonee Victoria Burnim (born 1950) is an American ethnomusicologist. A professor emerita at Indiana University Bloomington who specializes in African American gospel music, she previously served as director of the university's Archives of African American Music and Culture.

Early life and education
Burnim grew up in rural Teague, Texas in the 1950s and 1960s. She attended all-Black schools and churches, where she sang gospel music. By the age of 12, Burnim was the pianist for three different church choirs in her community.

Burnim attended North Texas State University, majoring in music education with a concentration in piano. During her studies, she continued to play piano for a Black Baptist church choir on Sundays. Burnim went on to complete a master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a thesis on songs in Mende folktales.

Burnim was recruited to Indiana University Bloomington to complete her PhD and to found the university's African Choral Ensemble in 1976. She earned her doctorate in ethnomusicology in 1980, with a dissertation titled The Black Gospel Music Tradition: Symbol of Ethnicity.

Career
Following her graduation, Burnim continued at Indiana University, joining the faculty of the Department of Afro-American Studies (now the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies). She went on to chair the department. She transferred to the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology in 1999. She served as director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture from 2014 to 2016. As of 2017, Burnim holds professor emerita status.

Burnim is recognized as a pioneer and expert in the study of African American gospel music. She was a "prolific" researcher who published and lectured widely on the history and practice of Black religious music.

Burnim co-edited two textbooks with her Indiana University colleague Portia K. Maultsby: African American Music: An Introduction (2006) and Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (2016). A collection of Burnim's papers and audiovisual materials can be found in the Indiana University archives.

Books

 * African American Music: An Introduction (co-edited with Portia K. Maultsby), 2006; ISBN 9781317934431
 * Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (co-edited with Portia K. Maultsby), 2016; ISBN 9781315472072