Kuronen, Darcy

- Sarah Adams Hoover
Extract
(b Deadwood, SD, Nov 9, 1955). American curator and organologist. He studied cabinet making at Western Dakota Vocational-Technical Institute (1978) and harpsichord (BM 1982) and the history of musical instruments (MM 1986) at the University of South Dakota. While an undergraduate, he served as research assistant at the National Music Museum. Since 1986 he has worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as assistant curator (1986–1995) and subsequently curator of musical instruments (from 1995); in 2010 he was named the first Pappalardo Curator of Music Instruments. His tenure has included the exhibitions “Dangerous Curves: Art of the Guitar” (2000), and “Sounds of the Silk Road: Musical Instruments of Asia” (2005). Kuronen’s research on the history of musical instrument manufacturing in the United States has focused particularly on pianos, violins, guitars, and free reeds. He has also created an inventory of musical instruments in museums and historical societies throughout New England. His article “The Musical Instruments of Benjamin Crehore” was awarded the Frances Densmore Prize in ...