Robert Gauldin
Encyclopedia
Robert "Bob" Luther Gauldin (born 1931) is an American composer and Professor Emeritus of Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music
.
Gauldin's compositions include works for wind ensemble, chamber orchestra, and chorus. He also received a Ford Foundation
Grant for the Contemporary Music Project pilot program at Eastman from 1966 to 1968. As a theorist, Gauldin has published a number of articles and three widely used textbooks, and has presented numerous papers at conventions and universities in both the United States and England. He has served as reviewer and adviser for several publishers, including the Yale University Press
and Prentice-Hall, and has served on various boards and committees for music theory societies, including a federal committee chosen to select summer seminars in music for the National Endowment for the Humanities
(1981–1982). He was a charter member of the Society for Music Theory and served as its vice president and president (1988–1992). Gauldin retired in 1997 after 34 years of service to the School but continues to be an active member of the Eastman community. In recognition of his accomplishments and contributions, the theory department established the Gauldin Acquisition Fund for Rare Books in Music Theory for the Sibley Music Library
, with an initial focus on counterpoint treatises and Wagnerian studies.
, Music Theory Spectrum
, Journal of the American Liszt Society, and Sonus.
Bobby Gauldin graduated 1949 from Vernon High School (in Vernon, TX). During his senior year, Gauldin was Vice President of the Honor Society and, as clarinetist, he was President of the Band. In the 1949 Vernon High School Yearbook, he was labeled "the BEBOP man."
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
.
Education
- 1953 — bachelor’s degree in composition from the University of North Texas College of MusicUniversity of North Texas College of MusicThe University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
- 1955 — masters degree in music theory from the Eastman School of MusicEastman School of MusicThe Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
- 1958 — doctorate in music theory from the Eastman School of MusicEastman School of MusicThe Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
Career
- 1958-63 — Professorship of theory at William Carey CollegeWilliam Carey CollegeWilliam Carey University is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in the United States, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; there are two subsidiary...
- 1963-97 — Professor, Eastman School of MusicEastman School of MusicThe Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
Honors
- 1988 — Honorary Doctorate, William and Mary College
- R.T. French Company Visiting Professor at Oxford University’s Worchester College†
Composition Awards
- 1952 — First Prize, Student Composition, Texas Federation of Music Clubs
- SonatinaSonatinaA sonatina is literally a small sonata. As a musical term, sonatina has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter, lighter in character, or more elementary technically than a typical sonata...
- 1952 — BMI Student Composer Award (see also BMI Student Composer Award)
- 1964 — Winner of the 1954 Music Mountain Contest for works by American composers for string quartet:
- PartitaPartitaPartita was originally the name for a single instrumental piece of music , but Johann Kuhnau and later German composers used it for collections of musical pieces, as a synonym for suite.Johann Sebastian Bach wrote two sets of Partitas for different instruments...
in Four Movements: Intrada; ScherzoScherzoA scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
; Passecaille; and RondoRondoRondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
- The winning composition was selected among three finalist by the Berkshire String QuartetBerkshire String QuartetThe Berkshire String Quartet was an American classical chamber group founded and funded in 1916 at the height of World War I by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. The quartet, originally, was the Kortschak String Quartet, named for Hugo Kortschak , assistant concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony from...
– Urico Rossi (1916–2001) (first violin); Albert Lazan (1914–2003) (second violin); David Dawson ( –1975) (viola); and Fritz Magg (1914–1997) (cello); Judges selecting the three finalist were William KrollWilliam KrollWilliam Kroll was an American composer and violinist.Kroll was born in New York City and died in Boston, Massachusetts. His most famous composition is Banjo and Fiddle for violin and piano.-Biography:...
, Aldo ParisotAldo ParisotAldo Simoes Parisot is a Brazilian-born American cellist and cello teacher, was formerly a member of the Juilliard School faculty, and currently is serving as a professor of music at the Yale School of Music....
, Allen ForteAllen ForteAllen Forte is a music theorist and musicologist. He was born in Portland, Oregon and fought in the Navy at the close of World War II before moving to the East Coast. He is now Battell Professor of Music, Emeritus at Yale University...
, and Michael SteinbergMichael Steinberg (music critic)Michael Steinberg was an American music critic, musicologist, and writer. Born in Breslau, Germany , Steinberg left Germany as one of the Kindertransport child refugees...
- The winning composition was selected among three finalist by the Berkshire String Quartet
Gauldin's compositions include works for wind ensemble, chamber orchestra, and chorus. He also received a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Grant for the Contemporary Music Project pilot program at Eastman from 1966 to 1968. As a theorist, Gauldin has published a number of articles and three widely used textbooks, and has presented numerous papers at conventions and universities in both the United States and England. He has served as reviewer and adviser for several publishers, including the Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
and Prentice-Hall, and has served on various boards and committees for music theory societies, including a federal committee chosen to select summer seminars in music for the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
(1981–1982). He was a charter member of the Society for Music Theory and served as its vice president and president (1988–1992). Gauldin retired in 1997 after 34 years of service to the School but continues to be an active member of the Eastman community. In recognition of his accomplishments and contributions, the theory department established the Gauldin Acquisition Fund for Rare Books in Music Theory for the Sibley Music Library
Sibley Music Library
Sibley Music Library is the library of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. It was founded in 1904 by Hiram Watson Sibley in honor of his father Hiram Sibley and is currently the largest university music library in the US.-History:...
, with an initial focus on counterpoint treatises and Wagnerian studies.
Publishings
Gauldin’s is the author of Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music and has authored many articles in publications that include Journal of Music Theory PedagogyJournal of Music Theory Pedagogy
Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy is a peer-reviewed, academic journal specializing in the teaching and pedagogy of music theory and analysis. It began publication in 1987, under the auspices of The Gail Boyd de Stwolinski Center for Music Theory Pedagogy, at the University of Oklahoma.The...
, Music Theory Spectrum
Music Theory Spectrum
Music Theory Spectrum is a peer-reviewed, academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It is the official journal of the , and is published by University of California Press in Berkeley, California. The journal was first published in 1979 as the official organ of the SMT, which had...
, Journal of the American Liszt Society, and Sonus.
Growing Up
Parents married November 9, 1929, Frederick, OK- Father: Robert Luther Gauldin (b. October 20, 1905, Honey Grove, TX; d. April 2, 1959, Vernon, TX)
- Mother: Lula Mae Self (b. December 31, 1905, Boswell, OK; d. August 6, 1977, Paris, TX)
Bobby Gauldin graduated 1949 from Vernon High School (in Vernon, TX). During his senior year, Gauldin was Vice President of the Honor Society and, as clarinetist, he was President of the Band. In the 1949 Vernon High School Yearbook, he was labeled "the BEBOP man."