Gertrude Rivers Robinson

For another American composer with a similar name, see Gertrude Ina Robinson.
Gertrude Rivers Robinson
Born
Gertrude Eloise Rivers

June 30, 1927
Camden, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMarch 12, 1995 (age 67)
Occupation(s)College professor, ethnomusicologist, composer, musician
RelativesAubrey Eugene Robinson Jr. (brother-in-law)

Gertrude Eloise Rivers Robinson (June 30, 1927 – March 12, 1995)[1] was an American educator, musician, ethnomusicologist, and composer. She was a professor at Loyola Marymount University from 1970 to 1995. She studied, wrote, recorded, performed, and taught music for gamelan ensemble.

Early life and education

Rivers was born in Camden, South Carolina,[1] the daughter of William Napoleon Rivers Jr. and Gertrude Burroughs Rivers. Her parents were both college professors in Washington, D.C. She studied piano from childhood, attended Northfield School for Girls, and graduated from Cornell University in 1947. She began studying Indonesian music with Mantle Hood in the 1950s, and earned a master's degree in composition at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1972, with her thesis composition titled "Bayangan: Piece for Western septet and Balinese octet".

Career

Robinson taught and performed at Cornell University between 1947 and 1950.[2][3] After moving to California, she worked as an accompanist and collaborator with choreographer Lester Horton.[4][5][6] She studied and performed gamelan music at UCLA, and traveled to Bali several times for further research.[7] She lectured on dance at UCLA and UC Riverside in 1966, in programs with Eubie Blake[8] and Noble Sissle,[9] Her collected recordings were released as Bali South: Compositions of Wajan Gandera, Teacher, Composer, Gamelan Master, Peliatan, Bali (1973).[10] Other projects took her to India, Trinidad, and Ghana.[1]

Robinson taught at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) from 1970[7] until 1995, and was chair of the music department there.[11] She organized a "Festival of Gamelan" at LMU in 1985.[12] She served two terms as president of the Southern California chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology.[13] She was named Woman of the Year by LMU's chapter of California Women in Higher Education in 1993.[14]

Compositions

  • "Child", "Cry", "Sooth Song", "The Heart", "The Unfound Door", and "American Dance Story" (1948, for Cornell Dance Club)[3][15]
  • Quintet for Piano and Strings (1948)[16][17]
  • Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Cello (1949)[16]
  • Sketches for Children's Classes in Modern Dance (1951)[16]
  • Allegro Scherzando (1952)[18]
  • Dedication to Carson McCullers (1952, for Lester Horton)[6][16]
  • Dedication to Ruth, Mary, Martha (1952, for Lester Horton)[6][16]
  • Seven Scenes with Balabil (1952, for Lester Horton)[6][16]
  • Dedication to Hiroshima (1952, for Lester Horton)[6][16][19]
  • Prado de pena (1953, for Lester Norton)[16]
  • Morning, Mourning (1954, for Lester Horton)[5]
  • Bayangan: Piece for Western septet and Balinese octet (1962, rev. 1972)[16]
  • Moods I and II (1986)[16]
  • Sleep (1989, based on a passage from William Shakespeare)[16]

Personal life and legacy

Rivers married aerospace engineer Spencer Monroe Robinson in 1950, and moved with him to Los Angeles. They had two children. Her husband died in a car accident in 1968.[20] She died in 1995, at the age of 67.[1]

Robinson's papers and recordings are in the Archives of African American Music and Culture at Indiana University.[21] The Gertrude Robinson Network is an affinity group within the Society for Ethnomusicology, for Black ethnomusicologists;[22] it supports the Gertrude Rivers Robinson Annual Meeting Travel Award.[23] Her former colleagues established the Gertrude Rivers Robinson Endowment for World Music at Loyola Marymount University in 2022.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Buccio, Daniele (2013). "Robinson, Gertrude Rivers". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.a2289302. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  2. ^ "Cornell Slates Music Recital". The Ithaca Journal. 1947-05-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Dance Program Completed". The Ithaca Journal. 1948-05-13. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "'Choreo '52' Colorful Modern Dance Program". Valley Times. 1952-05-28. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Gertrude Robinson to Write 'Choreo' Music". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 1954-05-21. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e "New Dances for Premiere of 'Choreo '53'". Valley Times. 1953-03-03. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Hernandez, Mauricio (1975-10-08). "Update: Loyola". Westchester-Ladera Observer. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Vaudeville Living Legends to Talk at UCR Program". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1966-12-07. p. 33. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Terrill, Ann (1966-09-23). "2 Film Classics Introduce UC Course on Art, Culture". The Register. p. 36. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Bali South, Ethnomusicology Archive Series Vol. 1". The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  11. ^ a b "World Music Endowment Established at CFA". Loyola Marymount University Newsroom. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  12. ^ "Indonesian Music Festival at Loyola". The Argonaut. 1985-04-25. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gertrude Rivers Robinson (1927-1995)" The Society for Ethnomusicology.
  14. ^ "LMU Briefs". The Argonaut. 1993-06-10. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Ross, Mina B. (1949-05-14). "Cornell Dance Club Willard Straight Theater". The Ithaca Journal. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Walker-Hill, Helen (1995). Music by Black Women Composers: A Bibliography of Available Scores. Center for Black Music Rsrch. pp. 5, 17, 21, 23, 25, 31, 37, 61, 68. ISBN 978-0-929911-04-5.
  17. ^ "Music Students Plan Recital". The Ithaca Journal. 1948-04-30. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  18. ^ "Ballet to Feature Club Concert". The Ithaca Journal. 1952-01-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Hiroshima Motif in 'Choreo 1955'". Valley Times. 1955-08-13. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "S. M. Robinson, Space Executive". Madison-Florham Park Eagle. 1968-02-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-02-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Gertrude Rivers Robinson Collection, 1938-2012". Archives Online at Indiana University. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  22. ^ Harris, Deonte L. (2022-07-01). "On Race, Value, and the Need to Reimagine Ethnomusicology for the Future". Ethnomusicology. 66 (2): 213–235. doi:10.5406/21567417.66.2.03. ISSN 0014-1836.
  23. ^ "Gertrude Robinson Network". The Society for Ethnomusicology. Archived from the original on 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
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