About
ROBERT RANKIN (b. 1994) is a composer, conductor, and writer who grew up in North Carolina and now lives in Salt Lake City, UT. His music, which has been described as “powerful and effective” (Classical Voice Carolina), draws on a wide range of influences to create intense, intricate, and expressive works.
His music has been commissioned and performed by various ensembles and solo artists including the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Illinois Philharmonic, Durham Symphony, Duo Axon, the Empyrean Saxophone Quartet, the Sing-Me-A-Story Foundation, the Kuttner Quartet, the Lux Quartet, Split The Lark, and numerous high school and college wind ensembles across the United States.
He has received awards and honors from organizations including American Composers Orchestra, Tribeca New Music, New Music USA, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, Northwestern University, Indiana State University, National Federation of Music Clubs, and the Society of Composers Inc. Robert has attended the Atlantic Music Festival (2014) and the Brevard Music Center (2016, 17). As a conductor, he has lead ensembles in the world premieres of over two dozen works by both young and established composers.
Recent notable works include No Name In The Street commissioned by the Durham Symphony Orchestra; Make Them Dance for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and Concerto for Wind Ensemble for the Indiana University Wind Ensemble and Rodney Dorsey, a large-scale work depicting the spread of disinformation on the internet and their real world implications.
Robert received his DMA and MA in Music Composition at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, studying with Aaron Travers, Claude Baker, Eugene O’Brien, and P.Q. Phan. He is currently on the composition faculty at the University of Utah and teaches music theory at Utah Valley University.
Works are self-published by R. H. Rankin Music (BMI).
Selected wind ensemble works published by Murphy Music Press.
