Laryssa Whittaker

[Mark Porter]

We are very sad to hear of the passing of Laryssa Whittaker, who was a dear friend and colleague to many of those connected to the conference.

Laryssa was there from the start of our community. In 2011 she presented a paper on HIV-positive musicians and the South African Church and, in 2013, presented again on the South African Lutheran church’s quest for unity, continuity, survival, and growth. She compiled two conference reports advocating for the conference within the wider ethnomusicological community before joining the conference committee for the events in 2015 and 2017. She contributed significantly to the organisation of these events, working on the programme and coordinating communications. She also contributed to the 2018 volume Making Congregational Music Local in Christian Communities Worldwide.

To those of us who encountered her, she offered a friendly, gracious, supportive, and hard-working presence. She will be missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with her and with all those who loved her and by whom she was and still is loved.