April 10, 2021
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Frank Pascale Tirro
Frank Pascale Tirro, dean of the Yale School of Music from 1980 to 1989, passed away after a long illness on March 28.
Tirro is remembered for his pathbreaking writings on music, education, and racism in America; his landmark contributions to our understanding of the history of jazz; his studies of late medieval and renaissance music; and his considerable administrative accomplishments. He was also an ASCAP award-winning composer and a highly respected professional clarinetist and saxophone player.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Tirro earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of Nebraska in 1960 and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from that institution in 2006. He earned his M.M. from Northwestern University in 1961 and his Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Chicago in 1974. While still a graduate student, he began his distin