Composer and
Associate Professor and Chair of Composition and Music Theory
robfrank@smu.edu
Division of Music
Meadows School of the Arts
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX 75243

Office Phone: (214) 768-2142

Full Biography

Robert J. Frank (b. 1961, Mankato, MN) holds degrees from Minnesota State University, Mankato (B.A. 1985, B.M. 1986) and the University of North Texas (M.M. 1988, D.M.A. 1995), where he studied with Martin Mailman, Phil Winsor, Cindy McTee and Larry Austin and participated in master classes and worked with John Corigliano, Samual Adler, and Witold Lutoslawski. He has lectured on the topic of computer music at several universities in South Korea (1996) under funding from the Korean National Foundation of the Arts and is a frequent guest lecturer on that topic at conferences and art/science museums around the United States. He has served on the faculty of the University of North Texas (1995-96), Central Washington University (1996-97) and since 1997 at Southern Methodist University, where he is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Music Theory and Composition.

His music is recognized by ASCAP (2008 Rudlolf Nissim Competition-Special Distinction), the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra (2006 Homage to Mozart International Blitz-Competition), the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (1988 Young Composers Reading Session), Ithaca College (1993 Theodore Presser New Choral Music Competition, First Place), and the University of North Texas Orchestra (1992). His works have been frequently commissioned by and performed on conferences and festivals including the 2001 Percussive Arts Society International Conference (commission/premiere); National Flute Association (2000, 2001 commissions/premieres); 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006 Viva Vivaldi Intl. Arts Festival, Mexico City (commission/premieres 2001 and 2004); 2000 Bowling Green New Music & Arts Festival, 2000 Setkani Theatre Festival in the Czech Republic (commission), International Computer Music Conference (1999 Beijing, 1996 Hong Kong), Society for Electro Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS 99); Lwow Music Festival (1997) and numerous regional venues. In 2000, his Quartet for piano, clarinet and real-time computer was written for, and premiered on, the opening concert of the 25th anniversary season of the new music ensemble Voices of Change with funding through a grant from Southern Methodist University. His orchestral works have received numerous commissions and performances by ensembles including the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, San Salvador National Orchestra, San Luis State Orchestra, I Palpiti, the Meadows Symphony, the Richardson Symphony, Clemson Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. His music is frequently performed on conferences and festivals throughout the world from Carnegie Hall to Beijing, China. His frequent performances on concert venues and radio broadcasts have earned him ASCAP Standard/Plus awards every year since 1998. His music is published by Brixton Publications and www.robertfrankmusic.com and recorded on several CD labels. He is Vice President of the Texas Computer Musicians Network.

Brief Biography

Robert J. Frank (b. 1961) holds degrees from Minnesota State University, Mankato and the University of North Texas. His music continues to win numerous awards and has been performed by major ensembles and performers in Carnegie Hall, the Mozarteum Grosser Hall in Salzburg during the Summer Music Festival, and in major concert halls in more than a dozen countries around the globe. His pioneering development of the analysis of Temporal Elements has opened the analysis of previously neglected acoustic and electro-acoustic works and is taught in universities around the globe. He is the author of the on-line music theory hypertext "Theory on the Web" and of the interactive software for "Performer Adaptive Scores."His music is published by Brixton Publications and www.robertfrankmusic.com and recorded on several CD labels. He is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Composition and Theory at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

As a composer, I am guided by two principles: "Whatever you do, do it by intent , not out of ignorance" and "Write music that you would really like to hear." I enjoy composing for all mediums; vocal, dramatic, chamber, orchestral, and electronic, although even in the last category I prefer to include the spontaneous and expressive element of a live performer.

The 20th Century has seen a great deal of exploration and experimentation. As a 21st Century composer, I attempt to glean and unify the languages and idioms I find most interesting into a universal, coherent and expressive statement. Consonant or dissonant harmonies, precisely metered or aleatorically free rhythms; I see them all as existing as different degrees on the same scale. The music I find most interesting is that which smoothly and gracefully moves along this scale, morphing and transforming from one level to another in a balanced, aesthetically pleasing manner. I strive to write challenging but idiomatic music with some element of freedom so that the performer's expressive capabilities are allowed to come through, yet never surrendering authorship of the music itself.

My hope is that my music inspires both the performer's and listener's imaginations with imagery and metaphors conveying those feelings and ideas that go beyond the capacity of words to express: that which compels one to compose.