Buzz Brusletten, a Vashon resident since 1978, passed away peacefully at his home on November 16, 2010 following a period of declining health. He was 79. Buzz was being cared for at home by hospice nurses, family, friends, and other caretakers.

Born on June 7, 1931 in Harlowtown, Montana, Buzz was originally named Irvin, but because his sister Peggy called him "buzzer" (her toddler version of "brother"), he soon became "Buzz." He showed an early interest in music, visual art, and Native American culture, all of which became defining elements of his life.

As a young adult Buzz started playing tenor saxophone in a local professional big band (if only you could have seen his zoot suit!), and this experience propelled him into a career in music. After he earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Montana in Missoula, he went on to complete a Master of Music in Theory and Composition at the Cincinnati Conservatory in Ohio. Even at this early stage it was clear Buzz had wide-ranging musical interests and talents.

His career extended internationally in 1958 when he embarked on a one-year Fulbright fellowship to Rome, Italy. There he studied music composition with Goffredo Petrassi and Luigi Dallapiccola and became fluent in Italian.

Once he returned to the US, he was awarded music fellowships at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire and Montalvo Arts Center in California. His composition continued to flourish when he moved to New York City, writing numerous works including a string quartet, a violin sonata, songs, and haiku for piano.

His next teaching position, at the Music and Arts Institute of San Francisco, became a personal turning point when he met and fell in love with Karin. Buzz and Karin's life together in San Francisco was a daily adventure. They were married in Muir Woods in 1963.

In 1966 Buzz and Karin sailed by freighter from Brooklyn Heights, NY to Genova, Italy (there was even a cigarette-smuggling priest on board), and then continued their journey to Florence with the intention of staying there one year. Neither of them predicted the one year would blossom into 12. Buzz was hired as a music teacher at a number of schools and colleges, including Villa Schifanoia, a graduate music and arts institute, and American study abroad programs in Florence, Bologna, and Siena, teaching opera, early music, music history, American musical comedy, and other subjects.

During their time in Italy Buzz and Karin had two children, Andrew and Ture, and performed music extensively. Their first group was Carmina Viva, an ensemble that performed early renaissance music. Angel Band, a group they formed with other expats to commemorate the US bicentennial, toured small towns in central Italy and performed in the Salone dei Cinquecento of the Palazzo Vecchio in downtown Florence. Italian audiences howled with appreciation. Angel Band produced an album (All the Good Times) that includes two original compositions written by Buzz and based on poems by Thomas Hardy.

While he and his family lived in Fiesole, a hill town dating to Etruscan times, Buzz mounted a reenactment of Chief Joseph's struggle for freedom with friends and community members in a nearby patch of woods.

Buzz and his family moved to Vashon Island in 1978 and lived temporarily with his nieces in their house in Burton, located where Back Bay Inn stands now. The adjustment that came with moving from Italy to the US was difficult, but Buzz immediately started integrating into the Vashon Island community.

In 1980 Buzz was hired to teach music theory, composition, chorus, and ensembles at Northwest School, a newly-formed private school emphasizing arts, humanities, and environment. He also directed music in Island productions of Oliver, Fiddler on the Roof, Music Man, and Quilters. With Cornish College of the Arts he directed Threepenny Opera, and other works.

After leaving Northwest School, he taught at Olympic College, Tacoma Community College, and University of Washington Tacoma, focusing on World Music styles from Native America, Africa, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, and India. These musical styles gave him access to his own exploration of culture, looking at how people solve problems, express themselves, celebrate life, and engage in spiritual practice. He was fond of attending festivals such as WOMAD at Marymoore Park and Chief Seattle Days near Poulsbo. Over the years, Buzz dedicated himself to a rewarding practice of Tai Chi, which further connected him to the Vashon community and provided a fresh start to his Saturday mornings.

Over the course of his musical life, Buzz played guitar, clarinet, tenor saxophone, recorders, crumhorn, piano, and hammered dulcimer, and he developed interests and expertise in musical genres including medieval, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, modern, jazz, pop, and world beat.

After his retirement, Buzz taught saxophone and clarinet privately to students out of his home. His teaching style was interactive and engaging, and he always looked forward to lessons and sought the best way to build skill and confidence in his young students.

Buzz loved painting, creating, and various forms of art. He applied his skills frequently in gifts for family and friends: a hand made heart-shaped book of poetry for Karin, an oil painting of a Hopi Kachina doll, a children's book for Andrew and Ture, a bunk bed, a mahogany table.

Many who knew Buzz describe him as gentle, always true to himself, subtle in his sense of humor, easy in conversation. One of his favorite places on Vashon was the lookout at Fisher Pond.

His family members (his wife Karin, his children Andrew and Ture, Ture's husband Matthew, their son Isaac, Matthew's parents Dan and Barbara, Matthew's sister Sarah, Buzz's nieces Gwen, Valerie, and Krista, and their husbands and children) are grateful and happy to have shared life with Buzz. A memorial in celebration of Buzz' life is scheduled for Saturday, December 4, 2010, 3 - 5 pm at the Vashon Grange. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank. www.vashonfoodbank.org