About
ROBERT RANKIN (b. 1994) is a composer, teacher, 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. READ MORE >
News
On April 21st, saxophonist Derek Granger, with the Utah Valley University Wind Symphony conducted by Christopher Ramos will perform the world premiere of my saxophone concerto, The Angel of History. The concerto reflects on the passage of time and the way the past tumbles violently into the present. Inspired by a passage by the German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin, the piece was written as a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.
(A piano reduction is currently in the workshop, getting tinkered with as I type!)
Featured Works
(2023) — Inspired by the rise of disinformation on the internet and how it creeps into the “real world.” Short, seemingly insignificant musical ideas grow, spread, and eventually consume the ensemble.
THE ANGEL OF HISTORY (Saxophone concerto)
(2025) — A lyrical and meditative concerto for alto saxophone and wind ensemble that reflects upon historical cycles of human catastrophes and the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.
(2024) — Three short arrangements for saxophone quartet of motets from Orlando de Lassus’s Prophetiae Sibyllarum composed around 1550.
Writings
The Rankin File (at least I thought it was a clever name) is a Substack consisting of monthly essays concerning my thoughts about music, as well as politics and culture. And, during the season, the occasional piece about baseball.
I have fun writing these essays and I hope you enjoy reading them.