“Detroit musician Rick Robinson wants to ‘cut loose with classical,’ ” writes Steven Brown in Sunday’s (11/30) Houston Chronicle. “The composer, who is devoted to broadening classical music’s reach, will bring his campaign to Houston next fall, thanks to $7,500 from the League of American Orchestras” and New Music USA through Music Alive: New Partnerships, which supports one-week residencies for composers and orchestras nationwide. “The grant will help the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra host a residency for Robinson, aka Mr. CutTime. ‘The average American today enjoys all kinds of music but doesn’t know why or how to approach (classical) instrumental music,’ Robinson says on cuttime.com. ‘It is up to the musicians to set a new context for classical; to make sure the spirit, beauty and risk of classical are most apparent and compelling.’ The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra will perform Robinson’s ‘Gitcha Groove On!’ in September. The composer describes it as his parallel to George Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris.’ ‘He is all about getting into the community and bringing music to people, just like ROCO,’ says the orchestra’s artistic director, Alecia Lawyer.”
Click here to read Robinson’s Symphony magazine article about engaging multiple communities with classical music.
Posted December 2, 2014
