Pruett, James W(orrell)

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Pruett, James W(orrell)

Pruett, James W(orrell) , prominent American music librarian and musicologist; b. Mount Airy, N.C., Dec. 23, 1932. He studied music and comparative literature at the Univ. of N.C. in Chapel Hill (B.A., 1955; M.A., 1957; Ph.D., 1962), where he was a member of its library staff (1955–61), serving as music librarian (1961–76). In 1963 he joined its music dept., serving as prof. of music (1974–87) and chairman of the dept. (1976–86); also was president of the Music Library Assn. (1973–75) and ed. of its journal Notes (1974–77). He was chief of the music division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (from 1987). He ed. Studies in Musicologi: Essays in the History, Style, and Bibliography of Music in Memory of Glen Haydon (Chapel Hill, 1969), and, with T. Stevens, publ. Research Guide to Musicology (Chicago, 1985).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire