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Robert Grove Hughes

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1420 45th Street, #16

Emeryville, CA

94608

Bob now devotes his time to composing Silenus' Antiphonary after a full career as composer, conductor, bassoonist and champion of new music, with special emphases on American, Japanese and Italian new music. As co-founder of the Cabrillo Music Festival with Lou Harrison, conductor of the Arch Ensemble for Experimental Music, founder-director of the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra and composer-conductor of many other music special concerts, music film and video projects, he developed programs that included ground-breaking commissions, recordings and tours.

[Many members of the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra went on to pursue careers in music. If you are a former member of the OSYO, please send Bob any unique memories of your time with the orchestra and he will include it here. Please use this email: mafishco@gmail.co]

Biography:

ROBERT GROVE HUGHES, composer and scholar, is currently composing “Silenus’ Antiphonary,” a long-term project, somewhat like a “book” of days, that joins graphics and texts with music. He has recently co-edited with Margaret Fisher The Complete Music of Ezra Pound in five volumes, published by Second Evening Art. A graduate of the University of Buffalo, he studied composition with Aaron Copland, Carlos Chavez (in Buffalo NY), Luigi Dallapiccola (in Florence, Italy), and Lou Harrison (in Aptos, CA). He has received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony, Cabrillo College, the Oakland Symphony, the Arch Ensemble for Experimental Music, Houghton-Mifflin, the National Parks Service, and the Walt Disney Company, among others. His compositions include works for chamber ensemble, symphony orchestra, chorus, performance art events and a wide variety of media, including eighteen movie scores and a large body of electronic music.

Bob directed orchestras in the United States and Europe, with a concentration on contemporary music. Just before retiring, he led the Lyons Opera Ballet in a series of works by Frank Zappa. As conductor, he has commissioned premieres from Laurie Anderson, Don Buchla, Olly Wilson, Robert Ashley, Robert Moran, Ned Rorem, among others, and has issued recordings of music by Lou Harrison, Henry Brant, Luigi Dallapiccola, Ned Rorem, Henry Grant Still and Peter Lopez on CRI, New World, Music Masters, Phoenix, Fantasy, Cambridge, Desto, 1750 Arch and Bomar labels. He recorded the opera “Le Testament” by Ezra Pound on the Fantasy label, with the San Francisco Opera Western Opera Theater in 1972, reissued on the Second Evening Art label and excerpted on the Other Minds label.

Bob’s composition and performance art activities received support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Fulbright Commission, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Bellagio Study Center (Italy), the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, the Exploratorium (San Francisco), the Djerassi Foundation and The Lake Placid Center for the Arts. He has been a visiting artist and scholar at the American Academy in Rome. In 2004 he was elected to the Music Hall of Fame in Buffalo, New York.

Current Work:

Silenus' Antiphonary

Recently published by Second Evening Art

Sop'o muerte se cande . . . (for tenor and small orchestra, 1983, rev. 2013)

Whistling Tune (for wind quintet)

The Basics (see resume for a more complete list)

From: Buffalo, NY (b. 1933)

Joined Buffalo Musicians Union Local 92 during college years.

Inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

Current: Composer; Publisher, Second Evening Art Publishing / BMI

Affiliations: Musicians Union Local 6 (since 1962), Carl Fischer Music Publishers, Second Evening Art Publishing, and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)

Compositions: c.140 works for orchestra, solo and chamber ensembles, voice and chorus, electronic tape, ballet, film scores and video.

Recent Activities

2003-2011 Co-author and editor, with Margaret Fisher, researching, writing, publishing in 5 scholarly volumes the complete music composed by the American poet Ezra Pound (www.ezrapoundmusic.com)

Title	Ensemble Type	Composed	Duration	Media
Sop'o muerte se cande . . .	Orchestra	1983	00:08:00

New Music USA Online Library

Explore

Robert Grove Hughes

Le Testament

Music of Ezra Pound: Ego Scriptor Cantilenae

Keith Jarrett / Lou Harrison

Night Music / The Idea Of Order At Key West / Pacific Sirens

Peter Dickson Lopez - The Ship of Death

The Music Of Luigi Dallapiccola

Twentieth-Century Flute

Lou Harrison / Robert Hughes

Lou Harrison

Kingdom Come

Water Music

Lou Harrison Chamber and Gamelan Works

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Black Composer in America


Le Testament Label: Second Evening Art Release year: 2011 Performers: San Francisco Opera Western Opera Theatre with UCB Chamber Singers, Conducted by Robert Hughes; Soloists: Philip Booth, John Duykers, Renee Blowers, Dorothy Barnhouse, Dan Parkerson, Wendy Hoggatt, Jane Sharp, Sandra Bush, Lawrence Cooper Ezra Pound’s 1-act opera Le Testament sets selected poems from the long poem by François Villon (1431-?), plus an epitaph. The action of Pound’s opera does not quite add up to a plot or dramatic story; the outlawed Villon moves back into Paris despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest in that city. His closest friends gradually assemble around him—Ythier, a former girlfriend nicknamed Rose, the old prostitute Heaulmière, her protégés Gantière, Blanche, and Guillemette. Joined by Villon’s mother, the group urges Villon to flee for his life, but to no avail. Instead, Villon pens his last will and testament. By evening the gathering crowd has grown quite large and quite drunk. Their singing and dancing attract the attention of the police. Villon is arrested. A final tableau depicts six men hung from the gallows. Further information: Other Minds Festival Buy online: http://www.otherminds.org
Music of Ezra Pound: Ego Scriptor Cantilenae Label: Other Minds 1005-2 Release year: 2005 Performers: Other Minds Ensemble conducted by Robert Hughes A sampler of Ezra Pound's music, the excerpts are taken from his first opera Le Testament (1923), the second opera Cavalcanti (1931-1933), and his violin works. Further information: Other Minds Festival Buy online: http://webstore.otherminds.org/collections/other-minds-records/products/om1005
Keith Jarrett / Lou Harrison Label: New World Records NW 366-1 Release year: 1988 Performers: Keith Jarrett, Lucy Stoltzman, Soloists, Orchestra conducted by Robert Hughes Suite for Violin, Piano and Small Orchestra (18:34) Further information: Buy online:
Night Music / The Idea Of Order At Key West / Pacific Sirens Label: CRI SD 494 Release year: 1984 Performers: The Arch Ensemble for Experimental Music conducted by Robert Hughes A1 NIGHT MUSIC: Clarinet [B-flat] – Larry London; Conductor – Robert Hughes; Double Bass – J. Karla Lemon, Mel Graves ; Percussion – Norman Peck, Ward Spangler; Recorded By – Tony Gnazzo ; Trombone – Dan Livesay ; DURATION: 18:00 . B1 THE IDEA OF ORDER AT KEY WEST Clarinet [B-flat] – Larry London ; Conductor – Robert Hughes ; Double Bass – Mel Graves ; French Horn – George Mealy ; Lyrics By – Wallace Stevens ; Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Carol Plantamura ; Percussion – Norman Peck, Ward Spangler ; Recorded By – George Craig ; Trombone – Dan Livesay ; Viola – Nathan Rubin ; DURATION: 10:55 . B2 PACIFIC SIRENS Conductor – Gregory Barber ; Recorded By – Tony Gnazzo ; Viola – Nathan Rubin Further information: Buy online:
Peter Dickson Lopez - The Ship of Death Label: 1750 Arch Records S-1794 Release year: 1983 Performers: The Arch Ensemble for Experimental Music, conducted by Robert Hughes CREDITS Artwork [Cover], Design [Jacket] – Jacqueline Humbert Rosenboom; Bassoon – Greg Barber; Cello – Ami Radunskaya; Clarinet – William Wohlmacher; Engineer – Bob Shumaker; Ensemble – Arch Ensemble For Experimental Music; Flute – Patrice Hambelton; French Horn – George Mealy; Harp – Paula Abrams; Management – Sarah Lutman; Oboe – Robin May; Percussion – Norman Peck, Perry Dreiman, Peter Scherer, Raymond Froelich, Scott Thomas, Ward Spangler. Photography: Caris Palm, Irene G. Lopez, Richard Blair; Piano – Rae Imamura; Tenor Vocals – Tom Buckner; Trombone – Johannes Mager; Trumpet – Carole Klein; Viola – Lorrie Hunt; Violin – Dan Smiley. Further information: Buy online:
The Music Of Luigi Dallapiccola Label: 1750 Arch Records S-1782 Release year: 1979 Performers: The Arch Ensemble for Experimental Music, Conducted by Robert Hughes Credits: Sides A/B and Tracks: A1-DIVERTIMENTO In Quattro Esercizi: Cello – Amy Radner; Clarinet – Larry London; Conductor – Robert Hughes; Flute, Piccolo – Patrice Hambelton ; Oboe – Robin May; Soprano Vocals – Anna Carol Dudley; Viola – Lorrie Hunt; duration: 12:40. A2 RENCESVALS: Piano – Marvin Tartak; Tenor Vocals – Thomas Buckner; duration: 8:00. B1 QUATTRO LIRICHE Di Antonio Machado: Piano – Marvin Tartak; Soprano Vocals – Anna Carol Dudley; duration 6:17. B2 CINQUE CANTI: Bass Clarinet – John Phillips; Cello – Amy Radner; Clarinet – Larry London; Conductor – Robert Hughes; Flute – Angela Koregelos; Flute [Alto] – Patrice Hambelton; Harp – Beverly Bellows; Piano – Rae Imamura; Tenor Vocals – Tom Buckner; Viola – Lorrie Hunt Further information: Buy online:
Twentieth-Century Flute Label: 1750 Arch Records Release year: 1978 Performers: Janet Millard, flute Loren Brown, cello Robert Hughes, "Sonitudes" Sonitudes is published by Carl Fischer Music. Heitor, Villa-Lobos, "Assobio a jato." Wayne Peterson, "Capriccio" Béla Bartók, "Magyar parasztdal" arr Further information: Buy online:
Lou Harrison / Robert Hughes Label: 1750 Arch Records S-1772 Release year: 1977 Performers: Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, conducted by Robert Hughes and Denis de Coteau "Cadences," for large orchestra, two conductors, multisoloists, electronic tape. Artwork, Design – Sharon Stein; Engineer – George Craig (tracks: A); Recorded By – Anthony Gnazzo (tracks: B); Recorded By, Mixed By – Richard Beggs (tracks: B) Further information: Buy online:
Lou Harrison Label: Desto Records DC 6478, reissued Phoenix Records PHCD 118 Release year: 1971 Performers: Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra performs "Pacifika Rondo" Conducted by Robert Hughes PACIFIKA RONDO, For An Orchestra Of Western & Oriental Instruments: 1. The Family Of The Court; 2. A Play Of Dolphins; 3. Lotus; 4. In Sequoia's Shade; 5. Netzahualcoyotl Builds A Pyramid; 6. A Hatred Of The Filthy Bomb; 7. From The Dragon Pool; FOUR PIECES FOR HARP: 1. Serenade For Frank Wigglesworth; 2. Beverly's Troubador Piece; 3. From Music For Bill & Me; 4. Avalokiteshvara; TWO PIECES FOR PSALTERY: 1. Psalter-Sonata (Sonata For Psaltery); 2. The Garden At One And A Quarter Moons Music For Violin With Various Instruments, European, Asian, African; 1. Allegro Vigoroso, 2. Largo, 3. Allegro Moderato , Further information: Buy online:
Kingdom Come Label: Desto DC-7108 Release year: 1970 Performers: Oakland Symphony Orchestra, Oakland Youth Orchestra, conducted by Gerhard Samuel and Robert Hughes, with Henry Brant on the organ Side A: Kingdom Come: Conductor – Gerhard Samuel, Robert Hughes; Orchestra – Oakland Symphony Orchestra, Oakland Youth Orchestra; Organ – Henry Brant; Side B: Machinations: Timpani, Chimes, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Organ, Flute [Eb], Flute [Ceramic], Ocarina [Double], Flageolet [Double], Harp – Henry Brant Further information: Buy online:
Water Music Label: Desto DC 6462 Release year: 0 Performers: Oakland Youth Orchstra, Conducted by Robert Hughes, with Larry London Clarinet Soloist A1 Water Music: Clarinet – Larry London, Conductor – Robert Hughes, Orchestra – Oakland Youth Orchestra; A2 Ideas For Orchestra: Clarinet – Larry London, Conductor – Robert Hughes, Orchestra – Oakland Youth Orchestra; B Trio For Flute, Cello, And Piano: Cello – Charles Forbes, Flute – Jayn Rosenfeld, Orchestra – New York Camerata, The Piano – Glenn Jacobson; Mastered At – Madison Sound Studios; Credits: Composed By – Ned Rorem; Mastered By – Ray Hagerty Further information: Buy online:
Lou Harrison Chamber and Gamelan Works Label: New World Records 80643-2 (Originally issued as CRI CD613) Release year: 0 Performers: "Concerto in Slendro" performed by the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble Ensemble, conducted by Robert Hughes Tracks: Concerto in Slendro, Main Bersama-Sama, Threnody for Carlos Chávez, Serenade for Betty Freeman and Franco Assetto, String Quartet Set, Suite for Percussion Further information: classical net reviews Buy online: http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nwr80643a.php
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Label: Fantasy 9500 Release year: 0 Performers: Soundtrack conducted by Robert Hughes Further information: Buy online:
The Black Composer in America Label: Desto Records DC7107 Release year: 0 Performers: Oakland Youth Orchestra, conducted by Robert Hughes Sides A/B, Tracks A1 A Short Ouverture Composed By – Ulysses Kay, A2 Passacaglia Composed By – George Walker, A3 Song Of Separation Composed By – William Grant Still, A4 "Out In The Fileds" Composed By – William Dawson Lyrics By – Imogen Guiney, B1 A Quiet Movement Composed By – Arthur Cunningham, B2 Lullaby For A Jazz Baby Composed By – Stephen Chambers, Engineer – Richard Beggs, Vocals [Mezzo Soprano] – Cynthia Bedford Further information: Buy online:

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Robert Grove Hughes

Le Testament

Music of Ezra Pound: Ego Scriptor Cantilenae

Keith Jarrett / Lou Harrison

Night Music / The Idea Of Order At Key West / Pacific Sirens

Peter Dickson Lopez - The Ship of Death

The Music Of Luigi Dallapiccola

Twentieth-Century Flute

Lou Harrison / Robert Hughes

Lou Harrison

Kingdom Come

Water Music

Lou Harrison Chamber and Gamelan Works

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Black Composer in America