Manitoba Music

Robert Turner has composed over 70 compositions in all forms from symphonic and chamber works to operatic, vocal and ensemble pieces, including three symphonies, four concertos, three string quartets and two operas. He has fulfilled a great number of commissions from prominent national and international organizations and soloists, most notably the Canada Council, the Manitoba Arts Council, and C.B.C. Radio. His orchestral works have been successfully performed under many distinguished...

Robert Turner has composed over 70 compositions in all forms from symphonic and chamber works to operatic, vocal and ensemble pieces, including three symphonies, four concertos, three string quartets and two operas. He has fulfilled a great number of commissions from prominent national and international organizations and soloists, most notably the Canada Council, the Manitoba Arts Council, and C.B.C. Radio. His orchestral works have been successfully performed under many distinguished conductors: Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Karel Ancerl, Gary Bertini, Sergiu Commissiona, Franz-Paul Decker, Charles Dutoit, Agnes Grossmann, Derrick Inouye, Sir Ernest McMillan, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Streatfeld, and Bramwell Tovey.

In recognition of his distinguished, creative, and innovative contributions to Canadian music and culture, Robert Turner received the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (1993), the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2003) and was appointed to the Order of Canada (2003).

In 1985 Robert Turner retired from teaching, and he is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Manitoba. His second opera, House of Shadows, was completed in 1986, and many of his most significant orchestral works were written in the years following this retirement: Shades of Autumn (1987), Third Symphony (1990), Manitoba Memoir (1991), House of Shadows (1994), and River of Time (1994). During the 1990 season, in celebration of Turner's 70th birthday, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra performed five of his major orchestral works under the direction of Bramwell Tovey.

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Robert Turner website