Robert Aldridge is an American composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

, and current professor of composition at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University

Montclair State University

Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students...

. He has written over sixty works for orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

, musical theater, dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

, and various chamber ensembles that have been performed in the United States, Europe, and Japan. He is widely known for his opera Elmer Gantry

Elmer Gantry (opera)

Elmer Gantry is an American opera based on the 1926 novel by Sinclair Lewis of the same name. It was composed by Robert Aldridge with a libretto by Herschel Garfein. The Nashville Opera presented the world premier in November 2007....

 which was completed in 2007.

Works

Works
Year	Work	Instrumentation	Premier Performer
1983	Combo Platter		Marimolin
1984	Summerdance	chamber ensemble	Beth Soll Dance Company
1986	Fanfare and March	marching band	Blackstone High School
	Concerto for Violin and Percussion	percussion ensemble	New England Conservatory
1987	Threedance	violin, marimba, and tablas	Marimolin
	Parable of the Blind	chamber ensemble	The American Dance Festival
	Ghosts	string quartet	Boston Composer's String Quartet
1988	From my little Island	marimba	Nancy Zeltsman
1989	Quartet for an Outdoor Festival	chamber ensemble	Lincoln-Center-Out-of-Doors
1992	The Concord Trio	clarinet, horn, and piano	Concord Community Music School
1993	Three Folksongs	clarinet and string quartet	Pacific Serenades
1996	String Quartet no. 2		The Kucharsky Quartet
1997	Larger Than Life	musical	developed by Manhattan Theatre Club
1998	Music from 'The Third Person		Betty Buckley (with Herschel Garfein Herschel Garfein Herschel Garfein is an American composer, librettist, stage director, and faculty member of the Steinhardt School of Music at New York University. He is widely known for his work on Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry. In his compositions for the musical Suenos he found an inspiration in Hispanic... )
	Ecstatic Overture	orchestra	Norwalk Symphony & Boston Civic Orchestra
	Concerto for Violin and Orchestra		Topeka Symphony
1999	Celebration Overture	orchestra	The Gulf Coast Symphony
	SoundMovesBlues		SoundMoves
2000	A Prayer, for a Music		Oregon Festival Chorale
2001	Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano		The Gramercy Trio
	The Third Person	musical	The York Theatre Company
2002	War Stories	concert band	Monclair State University Concert Band
2003	Leda and the Swan	orchestra	The New Jersey Symphony
2004	Clarinet Concerto		LA Chamber Orchestra
2007	Elmer Gantry Elmer Gantry (opera) Elmer Gantry is an American opera based on the 1926 novel by Sinclair Lewis of the same name. It was composed by Robert Aldridge with a libretto by Herschel Garfein. The Nashville Opera presented the world premier in November 2007....	opera	Nashville Opera
2010	Parables	oratorio	Topeka Symphony Orchestra