Jon B. Higgins

🪔 About

Jon Borthwick Higgins (1939-1984), known in India as Higgins Bhagavatar, was an American musician, scholar, and teacher renowned for his exceptional proficiency in South Indian classical Carnatic music, making him the first non-Indian to achieve such a high level of performance. Born in Andover, Massachusetts, on September 18, 1939, Higgins received his early education at Phillips Academy. He earned all three of his degrees from Wesleyan University: a B.A. in music and history (1962), an M.A. in musicology (1964), and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology (1973). His journey into Indian music began at Wesleyan under Robert E. Brown and T. Ranganathan. Captivated by Carnatic music, he moved to India on a Fulbright scholarship to study with T. Viswanathan in Chennai. He quickly gained acclaim, performing at the prestigious Tyagaraja Aradhana festival in South India. Higgins was honored with the sobriquet "Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician) for his widely recognized sensitivity and skill. Beyond his vocal performances, Higgins also delved into Indian classical dance. He studied Bharatanatyam music under the renowned dancer T. Balasaraswati, sister of his guru T. Viswanathan, and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of Bharatanatyam. Higgins co-founded the Indian music studies program at York University in Toronto with Trichy Sankaran in 1971. He returned to Wesleyan University in 1978 as a professor of music and director of the Center for the Arts, where he worked to strengthen the curriculum and engaged in numerous cultural activities. He recorded several albums and his performances were broadcast on All India Radio. Jon B. Higgins tragically died on December 7, 1984, at the age of 45. Awards & Honours: Bhagavatar.