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Biography

Robert Rankin is a composer, conductor, and writer who grew up in North Carolina and now lives in Salt Lake City, UT. His music, which has been described as “powerful and effective” (Classical Voice Carolina), draws on a wide range of influences to create intense, intricate, and expressive works.

Robert’s music has been commissioned and performed by orchestras, ensembles, and solo artists including the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Durham Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic, Duo Axon, the Kuttner Quartet, the Empyrean Saxophone Quartet, the Northwestern Graduate Quartet, Split The Lark, and numerous high school and college wind ensembles across the country. 

He has received awards and honors from organizations including the American Composers Orchestra, New Music USA, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Red Note Music Festival, Northwestern University, Indiana State University, National Federation of Music Clubs, and the Society of Composers Inc. As a conductor, he has lead ensembles in the world premieres of over two dozen works by both young and established composers. Recent notable works include No Name In The Street commissioned by the Durham Symphony Orchestra;  Make Them Dance for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and Concerto for Wind Ensemble for the Indiana University Wind Ensemble and Rodney Dorsey, a large-scale work depicting the spread of disinformation on the internet and their real world implications.

Robert received his DMA and MA in Music Composition at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, studying with Aaron Travers, Claude Baker, Eugene O’Brien, and P.Q. Phan.

Courses Taught

• Composition Lessons