March 28th – April 1st
The Symposium offers lecture concerts, master classes and concerts, all of which are free and open to the public.
Evening concerts Monday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., plus master classes and lecture concerts during the day.
Featured composers include: John Luther Adams, Louis Ballard, Curt Cacioppo, Raven Chacon, Michael Daugherty, Kyle Gann, Peter Gilbert, José-Luis Hurtado, Valerie Naranjo, Karola Obermüller, Trevor Reed,John Donald Robb, Christopher Shultis, and Falko Steinbach.
Featured artists: Amernet Quartet and Emanuele Arciuli.
2016 Symposium Concert Schedule 14-Mar-2016 (71 KB)
2016 Symposium Daytime Schedule 14-Mar-2016 (70 KB)
The Trust promotes the exploration of new music through the UNM John Donald Robb Composers’ Symposium, which takes place every spring on the UNM campus. Since 1972, the internationally renowned symposium has brought composers and musicians from around the world to UNM for a series of public concerts and unique learning opportunities for UNM students. Past guest composers have included such luminaries as John Cage, Lukas Foss, Michael Colgrass, Anthony Braxton and Gordon Mumma.
Every other year, the Trust sponsors the UNM John Donald Robb Commission Competition. The winner receives a cash prize and the opportunity to have his/her composition performed during the Composers’ Symposium. The 2016 Commission Competition awardee will be announced in March.
The UNM Robb Musical Trust serves as a bridge between the UNM College of Fine Arts and the New Mexico community, regularly presenting concerts of Robb’s compositions along with Hispanic folk songs, preserving and promoting the archive of 3,000 field recordings Robb made, and collaborating with community partners in educational initiatives. Through its many activities, the Trust proudly carries on the vision of its namesake, John Donald Robb.
Dr. Kristina Jacobsen awarded The Fulbright Con Il Sud Award for Teaching and Research
Dr. Jacobsen, was recently awarded the Fulbright Con Il Sud Award for Teaching and Research to support her upcoming research during her sabbatical year on the Italian island of Sardinia [Sardigna].
Heterophony: Texture, Technique, and Social Commentary
This lecture is in two parts: the first draws from my research on the 1960s jazz avant-garde and musicians’ interests in heterophonic musical textures. For the second part, I perform original music that utilizes heterophony and “noise” in a solo electronic and improvised format.
The Gay West: From Drug Store Cowboys to Rodeo Queens
The masculine ideal represented by the American cowboy is variously interpreted by spectators, dancers, musicians, and contestants at gay rodeos and country western dances across the U.S. Examining embodied gender practices within these communities, this talk articulates the sonic, social, and geographical spaces of the gay American West.