2015 John Donald Robb Composers' Symposium

3/22/2015

March 22-26, 2015

Musical Retellings was the theme of the 2015 John Donald Robb Composers' Symposium, which explored folk and classical music in new ways. The March 22-26 festival brought composers Chen Yi, Christoph Maria Wagner, Carter Williams, Vijay Iyer and Luke Dahn to the University of New Mexico (UNM) campus for five exciting days of concerts and workshops. Performances from Chatter, the UNM Wind Symphony, the UNM Children's Chorus and UNM faculty from the Department of Music featured virtuosic creations by composers using folk and classical music as inspiration.

Also featured at this year's symposium was "Buffalo Dance", the winning composition of the 2014 UNM John Donald Robb International Composers' Competition. Composer Luke Dahn, a professor at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, introduced a performance of his composition.

This year's symposium began with a March 22 Sunday morning Chatter concert at the Kosmos, which highlighted works by our visiting composers, and continued that afternoon with open rehearsals, where the audience experienced a performance in progress. An eclectic program of contemporary music concluded the day in a concert at Keller Hall on the UNM campus.

A Monday morning panel discussion focused on how music retells and reinvents aspects of our culture. The March 23 discussion featured visiting professor in Sociology Raquel Z. Rivera and guest composers. During the week, daytime events included more open rehearsals, Meet-the-Composer events, lecture concerts and masterclass workshops.

In the evenings, concerts featured the UNM Wind Symphony on March 23. Virtuosic performances of compositions by visiting and local composers at the John Donald Robb Concert on March 24 complemented music by John Donald Robb, including excerpts from a rare video of his experimental electronic work. The UNM Children's Chorus and New Music New Mexico anchored the March 25 evening concert.

Vijay Iyer hosted a Meet-the-Composer event on March 26. That evening, the Vijay Iyer Trio closed out the symposium at a concert at the Outpost Performance Space.

For decades, the John Donald Robb Composers’ Symposium, a partnership between the UNM Robb Musical Trust and the UNM Department of Music, has brought composers and performers to the UNM campus annually to engage and teach students, along with the public, about contemporary music and contemporary music performance. All events on the UNM campus are free and open to the public. See pdfs below for complete schedules.