Robert Kyr

Composer Robert Kyr is a prolific creator who draws on diverse influences, including historical styles, world musical traditions, environmental concerns, and spiritual ideas. He is also an important teacher of composition and music theory. In the 1980s, Kyr taught at Yale, UCLA, and the Hartt School of Music, among other schools. In 1990, Kyr joined the faculty at the University of Oregon, where he has remained ever since. He is often motivated by contemporary events and by a consciousness of environmental issues, and many of his works, such as the environmental oratorio A Time for Life, for chorus and string trio, have a spiritual dimension. Recordings of Kyr's music began to appear in the mid-1990s, with his three violin concertos issued by the Third Angle New Music Ensemble. In 2021, the album Robert Kyr: In Praise of Music was released by the Antioch Chamber Ensemble.