Former Naumburg Professor of Music Luise Vosgerchian passed away Monday night after a battle with cancer. She was 77.

Vosgerchian, a native of Watertown, Mass., first joined Harvard music department in 1959 and received tenure in 1971. While a professor and eventually as chair of the department, Vosgerchian taught Music 51, a course on music theory required of all music concentrators, and a core course. She took emerita status in 1990.

"It is painful to realize that this warm, passionate, outspokenly frank, and vibrant woman who encouraged and inspiring us when we most needed it is no longer among us," said Martha Babcock '72, who had Vosgerchian as a professor and who is currently assistant principal cellist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Professor of Music Thomas F. Kelly, the chair of the department, noted her talent in teaching and in performance.

"She was a consummate musician," said Professor of Music Thomas F. Kelly, the department's chair. "[Her death] is a great loss to the department. She was a great friend to many in the department."

Those that knew her have fond memories of what they called an extraordinary woman.

"Never of an ordinary bent, her intellect was always finding fresh combinations and original perspectives," said John D. Stewart, senior preceptor in music, who knew Vosgerchian for over 30 years. "It was endlessly exciting and rewarding to have such a friend, a conversationalist of great artistry. I cannot possibly express how deeply I will miss that."

She taught methods that were valuable in their simplicity, according to Allison B. Charney '89, who is now an opera singer. Vosgerchian's lessons on music could even be well applied to life in general, she added.