Robert Kyr
Encyclopedia
Robert Kyr is an American composer, writer, filmmaker, and professor of music composition and theory.
Kyr is one of the most prolific composers of his generation, having written 12 symphonies
, three chamber symphonies, three violin concerti
, numerous large works for orchestra
, oratorio
s and other large-scale choral works
, and a wide variety of chamber music
.
Luminous and sometimes ecstatic in effect, Kyr's work is basically tonal
, and often harmonically and rhythmically complex, its sophistication deriving from its synthesis of both modern and ancient modes
, as well as Western and Asian musical traditions. An engaged activist for world peace and environmentalism, Kyr has initiated a number of projects that bring together musicians from diverse cultures
, or combine music with other media, and touch upon current or historical events.
The concepts and titles of Robert Kyr's works often point to their spiritual and metaphysical dimensions: A Time For Life, In Praise of Music, On The Nature of Love (Violin Concerto No.1), Unseen Rain, Songs of The Shining Wind, Into the Hour of New Life, White Tigers, and The Passion According to Four Evangelists.
Kyr's music has been performed widely around the world and he has been commissioned by numerous ensembles, including Chanticleer
(San Francisco), Cappella Romana
(Portland), Cantus
(Minneapolis), San Francisco Symphony
Chorus, New England Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony
, Yale Symphony Orchestra
, Cleveland Chamber Symphony
, New West Symphony
(Los Angeles), Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
, Harvard Glee Club
, Radcliffe Choral Society
, Yale Camerata, Oregon Repertory Singers, Cappella Nova (Scotland), Revalia (Estonia), Putni (Latvia), Moscow State Chamber Choir (Russia), Ensemble Project Ars Nova, Back Bay Chorale (Boston), and San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra among others.
Three compact discs of Kyr's music are currently available through New Albion Records: Violin Concerto Trilogy; Unseen Rain; and The Passion According to Four Evangelists. In addition, his music has been featured on several compilation discs including, Faces of a Woman, Celestial Light: Music by Hildegard von Bingen and Robert Kyr, The Fourth River: The Millennium Revealed, and Strange Attractors: New American Music for Piano.
Kyr has held teaching positions at Yale University
, UCLA, the Longy School of Music
and since 1990, has been Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Oregon
, which also includes David Crumb
on the faculty. Kyr also directs the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, the University of Oregon Composers Forum, the Music Today Festival, and the Vanguard Concert and Workshop Series, as well as the Pacific Rim Gamelan.
Kyr received his Bachelor's Degree from Yale University
in 1974, followed by a Master's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1980, and a Ph.D from Harvard University
in 1989, where previously, he was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows
. He also studied at the Royal College of Music
in London
, England (1974–76). His primary teachers included Donald Martino
, Earl Kim
, George Rochberg
and George Crumb
.
Kyr is one of the most prolific composers of his generation, having written 12 symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, three chamber symphonies, three violin concerti
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
, numerous large works for orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s and other large-scale choral works
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, and a wide variety of chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
Luminous and sometimes ecstatic in effect, Kyr's work is basically tonal
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
, and often harmonically and rhythmically complex, its sophistication deriving from its synthesis of both modern and ancient modes
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, as well as Western and Asian musical traditions. An engaged activist for world peace and environmentalism, Kyr has initiated a number of projects that bring together musicians from diverse cultures
Interculturalism
Interculturalism is the philosophy of exchanges between cultural groups within a society, as used by nationalists of the Canadian province of Quebec. Quebeckers have historically been sensitive to any perceived degradation of their heritage...
, or combine music with other media, and touch upon current or historical events.
The concepts and titles of Robert Kyr's works often point to their spiritual and metaphysical dimensions: A Time For Life, In Praise of Music, On The Nature of Love (Violin Concerto No.1), Unseen Rain, Songs of The Shining Wind, Into the Hour of New Life, White Tigers, and The Passion According to Four Evangelists.
Kyr's music has been performed widely around the world and he has been commissioned by numerous ensembles, including Chanticleer
Chanticleer (ensemble)
Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...
(San Francisco), Cappella Romana
Cappella Romana
Cappella Romana is a vocal ensemble founded in 1991 in Portland, Oregon. Its name, meaning "Roman Chapel", refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene , which embraced Rome and Western Europe, as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople and its Slavic commonwealth centered...
(Portland), Cantus
Cantus (vocal ensemble)
Cantus is a nine-member male vocal a cappella ensemble based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.-Biography:Cantus is a full-time, professional vocal chamber ensemble, made up of nine men singing in a TTBB , changed male voice arrangement. The artists are self-led, with programming and musical direction...
(Minneapolis), San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
Chorus, New England Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
, Yale Symphony Orchestra
Yale Symphony Orchestra
The Yale Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra at Yale University which performs in Yale's Woolsey Hall and tours internationally and domestically. The present Music Director is Toshiyuki Shimada.-History:...
, Cleveland Chamber Symphony
Cleveland Chamber Symphony
The Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres.-History:...
, New West Symphony
New West Symphony
The New West Symphony is one of several regional professional symphony orchestras in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1995 to succeed two orchestras that ceased operations...
(Los Angeles), Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum is a mixed chorus at Harvard University, composed of roughly 60 voices, drawing from both the undergraduate and graduate student populations...
, Harvard Glee Club
Harvard Glee Club
The Harvard Glee Club is a 60-voice, all-male choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1858 in the tradition of English and American glee clubs, it is the oldest collegiate chorus in the US. The Glee Club is part of the Holden Choruses of Harvard University, which also include the...
, Radcliffe Choral Society
Radcliffe Choral Society
The Radcliffe Choral Society is a 60-voice all-female choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1899, it is one of the country's oldest women's chorus and one of its most prominent collegiate choirs. With the all-male Harvard Glee Club and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium...
, Yale Camerata, Oregon Repertory Singers, Cappella Nova (Scotland), Revalia (Estonia), Putni (Latvia), Moscow State Chamber Choir (Russia), Ensemble Project Ars Nova, Back Bay Chorale (Boston), and San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra among others.
Three compact discs of Kyr's music are currently available through New Albion Records: Violin Concerto Trilogy; Unseen Rain; and The Passion According to Four Evangelists. In addition, his music has been featured on several compilation discs including, Faces of a Woman, Celestial Light: Music by Hildegard von Bingen and Robert Kyr, The Fourth River: The Millennium Revealed, and Strange Attractors: New American Music for Piano.
Kyr has held teaching positions at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, UCLA, the Longy School of Music
Longy School of Music
The Longy School of Music of Bard College is a conservatory located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and Boston...
and since 1990, has been Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, which also includes David Crumb
David Crumb
David Crumb, born May 21, 1962, is a contemporary composer born into a musical family. His father is composer George Crumb, and his sister is singer Ann Crumb...
on the faculty. Kyr also directs the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, the University of Oregon Composers Forum, the Music Today Festival, and the Vanguard Concert and Workshop Series, as well as the Pacific Rim Gamelan.
Kyr received his Bachelor's Degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1974, followed by a Master's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1980, and a Ph.D from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1989, where previously, he was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
. He also studied at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England (1974–76). His primary teachers included Donald Martino
Donald Martino
Donald Martino was a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer.Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Martino studied composition with Ernst Bacon, Roger Sessions, Milton Babbitt, and Luigi Dallapiccola...
, Earl Kim
Earl Kim
Earl Kim was a Korean-American composer.Kim was born in Dinuba, California, to immigrant Korean parents. He began piano studies at age ten and soon developed an interest in composition, studying in Los Angeles and Berkeley with, among others, Arnold Schoenberg, Ernest Bloch, and Roger Sessions...
, George Rochberg
George Rochberg
George Rochberg was an American composer of contemporary classical music.-Life:Rochberg was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended the Mannes College of Music, where his teachers included George Szell and Hans Weisse, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Rosario Scalero and...
and George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
.