Robert Rodriguez

DMA - Musical Arts (Composition)
University of Southern California - 1975

Conservatoire Americain, Fontainebleau, France - 1975

Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood) - 1972

BM - Music (Composition)
University of Texas at Austin - 1969

MM - Music (Composition)
University of Texas at Austin - 1967

146 Works (Complete Catalog) published by G. Schirmer, NY 2020 - publications

ASCAP Plus Award - ASCAP [2020]

Guggenheim Followship - Guggenheim Foundation [1975]

Prix Lili Boulanger - U of Mass (Boston) [1975]

Prix de Composition Musicale - Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco [1971]

University Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [2006–Present]

Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [1990–2006]

Associate Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [1978–1990]

Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [1975–1978]

Instructor
University of Southern California [1973–1975]

Personal Statement

 Robert Xavier Rodríguez is one of the most significant and often-performed American composers of his generation. He has written in all genres -- opera, orchestral, concerto, ballet, vocal, choral, chamber, solo and music for the theater -- but he has been drawn most strongly in recent years to works for the stage, including music for children. Rodríguez received his early musical education in San Antonio (b. 1946) and in Austin (UT), Los Angeles (USC), Lenox (Tanglewood), Fontainebleau (Conservatoire Americain) and Paris. His teachers have included Nadia Boulanger, Jacob Druckman, Bruno Maderna and Elliott Carter. Rodríguez first gained international recognition in 1971, when he was awarded the Prix de Composition Musicale Prince Pierre de Monaco by Prince Rainier and Princess Grace at the Palais Princier in Monte Carlo. Other honors include the Prix Lili Boulanger, a Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from ASCAP and the Rockefeller Foundation, five NEA grants and the Goddard Lieberson Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Rodríguez has served as Composer-in-Residence with the San Antonio Symphony and the Dallas Symphony. He is currently a University Professor and holder of the Endowed Chair of Art and Aesthetic Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he is Director of the Musica Nova ensemble. He is active as a guest lecturer and conductor. 

 Rodríguez' music has been performed by conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Antal Dorati, Eduardo Mata, James DePriest, Sir Raymond Leppard, Keith Lockhart and Leonard Slatkin. His work has received over 2000 professional orchestral and operatic performances in recent seasons by such organizations as the Vienna Schauspielhaus, The National Opera of Mexico, New York City Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, American Repertory Theater, American Music Theater Festival (now Prince Music Theater), Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Pennsylvania Opera Theater, Michigan Opera Theatre, Orlando Opera, The Aspen Music Festival, The Bowdoin Festival, The Juilliard Focus and Summergarden Series, The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mexico City Philharmonic, Toronto Radio Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, The Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Knoxville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Boston and Chicago Symphonies, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra. Rodríguez' chamber works have been performed in London, Paris, Dijon, Monte Carlo, Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, The Hague and other musical centers. His music is published exclusively by G. Schirmer and is recorded on the Newport, Crystal, Orion, Gasparo, Pro Arte, ACA, Urtext, CRI (Grammy nomination), First Edition, Naxos and Albany labels.

Musical publications:

• 146 original works published by G. Schirmer, New York
• All works described on composer's website.
• Sound clips and additional information on Schirmer website: Listen > 

Recordings:

• More than 20 CDs recorded. Complete listing on composer's website.
• For online purchase of selected titles, see Amazon.

 

Residencies

• 2013                Visiting Composer, Conservatory of Music, UMKC
• 2012                Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome
• 2010                Visiting Composer, Yehudi Menuhin School, London
  2010                Visiting Composer, Guildhall School, London
  2007                Visiting Composer, Indiana University
  2007                Visiting Composer, San Francisco Conservatory
•  2006 Visiting Composer, New England Conservatory
•  2004/06 Visiting Composer, European-American Musical Alliance, (Ecole Normale, Paris)
•  2004-06 Composer-in-Residence, Bowdoin Festival
•  2004 Visiting Composer, University of Texas at Austin
•  2004 Visiting Composer, Michigan State
•  2004 Visiting Composer, Northwestern University
•  2002/04 Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome
•  2002 Visiting Composer, University of Minnesota
•  2002 Visiting Composer, Arizona State
•  2001 Composer-in-Residence, Aaron Copland House
•  1996-2000 Composer-in-Residence, San Antonio Symphony
•  1999 Visiting Composer, University of Texas at Austin
•  1998 Visiting Composer, University of Miami
•  1997 Artist-in-Residence, Atlantic Center for the Arts
•  1995 Visiting Composer, University of Southern California
•  1991 Visiting Composer, Aspen Festival
•  1987-89 Composer-in-Residence, Bowdoin Festival
•  1988 Visiting Composer, Ohio State University
•  1988 Visiting Composer, Colorado State University
•  1988 Visiting Composer, Aspen Festival
•  1982-85 Composer-in-Residence, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
•  1982 Composer-in-Residence, Bennington College (Bennington, VT)
•  1981 Composer-in-Residence, Duke University (American Dance Fest.)
•  1981 Composer-in-Residence, Stetson University
•  1973-74 Composer-in-Residence, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Other Related Activities

•  2004    Presentation, Nadia Boulanger Symposium, U. of Colorado
•  2000-01    Panel, US/Mexico Fund for Culture
•  2000    Chairman of Panel, Sinfomnica 2000 Composition Competition
•  2000    Music Panel, NEA
•  1993-Present    Advisory Board, Little Orchestra of New York
•  1988    Composer Fellowship Panel, NEA
•  1988    Composer Fellowship Panel, Ohio Arts Council
•  1988    Composer Fellowship Panel, Artists Foundation of Massachusetts
•  1986-Present    National Advisory Board, League of Composers, !SCM
•  1985-96    President, Executive Director, Texas Composers Forum
•  1985-87    Consultant, Galaxy Music Corporation
•  1985-92    Consultant, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
•  1984-85    Regional Coordinator, Dealey Competition
•  1983-85    President, Meet the Composer/Texas
•  1982    Board of Directors, Meet the Composer/Texas
•  1982-Present    National Advisory Board, Meet the Composer (New York)
•  1982-85    Music Advisory Panel, Texas Commission on the Arts
•  1982    Advisory Board, Dealey Competition
•  1982    Advisory Board, SMU Summer Conservatory
•  1981-82    Advisory Board, UTD String Workshop
•  1980-Present    Advisory Board, Voices of Change
•  1977-80    Board of Directors, Voices of Change
•  1977-79    Music Director, Dallas Chamber Opera Society
    

Prof Debuts Musical Composition Based on Children's Book

Robert Xavier Rodríguez, an internationally renowned composer and professor of music at UT Dallas, will debut an original composition based on the children’s book The Dot and the Line at theMeyerson Symphony Center. The book was written by Norton Juster and is about a “sensible straight Line” that is hopelessly in love with a “Dot.” The Dot, meanwhile, only has eyes for a “wild and unkempt Squiggle.” In the end, the Line triumphs when he learns to bend in new and dazzling ways. The musical piece comes as a part of the program Stories in Music with Jamie Bernstein. Bernstein, daughter of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, will join the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to bring to life the classic tales by Juster, as well as favorite numbers from West Side Story and Candide.