ROBERT ROLLIN, a native of Brooklyn, New York, began composing at age 8 and was soon recommended by conductor Erich Leinsdorf for a special composition scholarship at Juilliard. Graduating Phi Beta Kappa from City College and with a doctorate from Cornell, he studied under Mark Brunswick, Ravi Shankar, Robert Palmer, Karel Husa, Elliott Carter, and György Ligeti. He has been recognized with annual ASCAP honors consecutively for two decades, and has held many important awards, post doctoral fellowships, and grants, including the Ohio Governor’s Award for Creative Excellence presented by the Honorable Richard Celeste in a public ceremony.
With music performed and broadcast on six continents, Robert Rollin’s compositions have been required jury pieces in the U.S.A., France, and South Africa. His publishers include Subito Press/Seesaw Music Corporation, Acoma/Nambe Editions, E.C. Schirmer, and Bourne Music Publishers. He serves as Associate Editor of the music theory journal Ex tempore and has authored many articles on music composition and history. An active pianist, he is founder and coordinator of the International Dana New Music Festival, now in its 25th year, and he also conducts the Dana Festival Chamber Orchestra, a professional group. Rollin’s recent premieres and guest residencies have taken him around the world.
