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.
Free Drumset Clinic hosted by John Riley
John has a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz education from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music in jazz studies from Manhattan School of Music. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and SUNY Purchase, and is an Artist in Residence at Amsterdam Conservatory, Holland.
Musicology Colloquium Series: The Black Pacific: Music, Race, and Indigeneity in Australia and Papua New Guinea
From the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ tour of Australasia in the 1890s to Snoop Dogg’s visit to Brisbane in 2014, the last century has seen ongoing, intensive intersections between Indigenous and African Diasporic musicians and activists in the Southwestern Pacific.
Amjad Ali Khan, Sarod Virtuso and Composer Joins the UNM Faculty
Amjad Ali Khan is one of the undisputed masters of the music world. For many, he takes on a celestial avatar when he is playing the Sarod. Born to Sarod icon Haafiz Ali Khan, he gave his first performance at the age of six. Over the course of his career, he has delivered his music in a flexible instrument line that is vocal in its expressiveness.