Don Robertson (composer)
Encyclopedia
Don Robertson is an American
composer.
Don Robertson was born in 1942 in Denver, Colorado
, and began studying music with conductor and pianist Antonia Brico
at age 3. He attended Colorado University, the Juilliard School of Music, and the Institute of Ethnomusicology at UCLA, and has studied composition privately with composer Morton Feldman
, counterpoint with Leonard Stein, tabla with Swapan Chaudhuri
and Shankar Ghosh
, and ragas with David Trasoff.
As one of the first wave of U.S. students of North Indian classical music, he wrote the first instruction book for tabla, published by Peer-Southern International in 1968. At that time he also discovered the base chord for negative music that he named the duochord; based on this discovery, Robertson recorded his first album on Limelight Records
the following year. Called Dawn (a play on his name and a reference to the dawning of a new age), it has been called the first album of what would later become the New Age music
genre. The album, produced by Abe "Voco" Kesh (also the producer for the band Blue Cheer, considered the first heavy metal band), also incorporated music based on the duochord along with some of the first heavy metal music
recorded. Dawn featured positive music on side one of the album, and negative music on side two. A collage, created by Robertson for the back cover, intended to represent the polarization of dark and light in the U.S.
Allmusic review
Robertson recorded his second New Age album Celestial Ascent in 1979 and released it on his DBR Music label in the burgeoning New Age genre. Purchasing synthesizer keyboards the following year, he recorded Resurrection, his first album of pop-classical music. Robertson began giving concerts shared with composer and multi-instrumentalist
Constance Demby
and recorded New-Age composer Aeoleah's first album in his home studio. Following this, he purchased one of the first digital music computers, the Synclavier II, and recorded his first two albums of digital classical music: Digital Symphony No. 1: Anthem, and Digital Symphony No. 2: Starmusic. By 2003, he had composed and created his Digital Symphonies 3 through 8. Robertson's acoustic classical works include Kopavi, a ballet for orchestra and chorus, the Southern Wind string quartet, and the Jubilation Mass for orchestra and chorus. He is also the author of the music website DoveSong.com that went online in March, 1997.
His desire to move from instrumental to vocal music resulted in the 2002 book Songwriting for Dummies written with his wife Mary Ellen Bickford and songwriter Jim Peterick. In 2008, he released his first album of pop-classical songs called Songs of Love and Joy. Robertson and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer.
Don Robertson was born in 1942 in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, and began studying music with conductor and pianist Antonia Brico
Antonia Brico
Antonia Brico was a conductor and pianist.Brico was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She and her foster parents immigrated to the United States in 1908 and settled in California. On leaving high school in Oakland in 1919 she was already an accomplished pianist and had experience in conducting...
at age 3. He attended Colorado University, the Juilliard School of Music, and the Institute of Ethnomusicology at UCLA, and has studied composition privately with composer Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
, counterpoint with Leonard Stein, tabla with Swapan Chaudhuri
Swapan Chaudhuri
Swapan Chaudhuri is an Indian tabla player, who has accompanied several musicians of Indian classical music, including, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Jasraj....
and Shankar Ghosh
Shankar Ghosh
Pandit Shankar Ghosh is a noted Indian tabla player from the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music. He is also an occasional Hindustani classical singer where he follows the Patiala gharana....
, and ragas with David Trasoff.
As one of the first wave of U.S. students of North Indian classical music, he wrote the first instruction book for tabla, published by Peer-Southern International in 1968. At that time he also discovered the base chord for negative music that he named the duochord; based on this discovery, Robertson recorded his first album on Limelight Records
Limelight Records
Limelight Records was a subsidiary label of Mercury Records. Originally headed by Quincy Jones, its activities were directed by the producer Jack Tracy...
the following year. Called Dawn (a play on his name and a reference to the dawning of a new age), it has been called the first album of what would later become the New Age music
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
genre. The album, produced by Abe "Voco" Kesh (also the producer for the band Blue Cheer, considered the first heavy metal band), also incorporated music based on the duochord along with some of the first heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
recorded. Dawn featured positive music on side one of the album, and negative music on side two. A collage, created by Robertson for the back cover, intended to represent the polarization of dark and light in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Allmusic review
Robertson recorded his second New Age album Celestial Ascent in 1979 and released it on his DBR Music label in the burgeoning New Age genre. Purchasing synthesizer keyboards the following year, he recorded Resurrection, his first album of pop-classical music. Robertson began giving concerts shared with composer and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Constance Demby
Constance Demby
Constance Mary Demby is an American multi-instrument musician and composer. Demby is identified with the New Age movement , while some of her output is also classified as ambient or space music. She is also a singer, instrument designer, painter, sculptor, and multi-media producer...
and recorded New-Age composer Aeoleah's first album in his home studio. Following this, he purchased one of the first digital music computers, the Synclavier II, and recorded his first two albums of digital classical music: Digital Symphony No. 1: Anthem, and Digital Symphony No. 2: Starmusic. By 2003, he had composed and created his Digital Symphonies 3 through 8. Robertson's acoustic classical works include Kopavi, a ballet for orchestra and chorus, the Southern Wind string quartet, and the Jubilation Mass for orchestra and chorus. He is also the author of the music website DoveSong.com that went online in March, 1997.
His desire to move from instrumental to vocal music resulted in the 2002 book Songwriting for Dummies written with his wife Mary Ellen Bickford and songwriter Jim Peterick. In 2008, he released his first album of pop-classical songs called Songs of Love and Joy. Robertson and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
External links
- DonRobertsonMusic.com – official website
- DoveSong.com
- http://www.risingworld.tv/donbio.asp