Conducting
Robert Denham, an active composer and conductor, received his DMA in composition from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. His other degrees are from UCLA (MA in composition) and Biola University (BM in trumpet performance). He studied conducting with Robert Feller and Rodney Winther, and currently serves as head of Theory and Composition in the Biola Conservatory of Music.
Mr. Denham directs ensembles of various sizes in a wide range of musical repertoire. Recently, he served as interim director of the Biola Symphony Orchestra, and also led performances with both the Cal State University Bakersfield Concert Band and at the 35th Annual Intercollegiate Symposium for New Band Music in Virginia. He also works with high-school and middle-school level ensembles in honor band and clinic settings, and now serves annually with Biola Youth Theater as music director. Previous engagements with this company include productions of Fiddler on the Roof (2001), Annie Get Your Gun (2008), Les Miserables (2011), Hello Dolly (2012), Guys and Dolls (2013), Thoroughly Modern Millie (2014), Godspell (2015), Singin’ in the Rain (2016), and most recently West Side Story (2017).
As a new music specialist, Denham relishes opportunities to perform/premier music written by living composers. He served for 4 years as manager and guest conductor at the MusicX festival in Cincinnati, and now directs the New Music Ensemble at Biola. Recent performances under his baton include works by John Adams (Shaker Loops), Peter Bacchus (Awakening the Inner Voice), Michael Daugherty (What’s That Spell?), Luciano Berio (Folk Songs), George Crumb (Ancient Voices of Children), Robert Denham (This is Just to Say: 8 Songs on Texts of William Carlos Williams and Echoes from Tilden), Jacob Druckman (Come ‘Round), Simon Fink (22), Jason Harris (Piano Concerto), Paul Hogan (Pocket), Jong-chan Lee (Seventy-Eighty Self-Portrait), Yun-Jae Ok (The Battle), Peter Maxwell Davies (Eight Songs for a Mad King), Shawn Okbebholo (Yellow Einstein), Arnold Schoenberg (Pierrot Lunaire), Igor Stravinsky (Dumbarton Oaks), Robert Thurston (Ascendance), Yiorgos Vassilandonakis (Aeriko), Tyler Walker (Schemes and Consolations), and Chen Yi (Sparkle).
Mr. Denham directs ensembles of various sizes in a wide range of musical repertoire. Recently, he served as interim director of the Biola Symphony Orchestra, and also led performances with both the Cal State University Bakersfield Concert Band and at the 35th Annual Intercollegiate Symposium for New Band Music in Virginia. He also works with high-school and middle-school level ensembles in honor band and clinic settings, and now serves annually with Biola Youth Theater as music director. Previous engagements with this company include productions of Fiddler on the Roof (2001), Annie Get Your Gun (2008), Les Miserables (2011), Hello Dolly (2012), Guys and Dolls (2013), Thoroughly Modern Millie (2014), Godspell (2015), Singin’ in the Rain (2016), and most recently West Side Story (2017).
As a new music specialist, Denham relishes opportunities to perform/premier music written by living composers. He served for 4 years as manager and guest conductor at the MusicX festival in Cincinnati, and now directs the New Music Ensemble at Biola. Recent performances under his baton include works by John Adams (Shaker Loops), Peter Bacchus (Awakening the Inner Voice), Michael Daugherty (What’s That Spell?), Luciano Berio (Folk Songs), George Crumb (Ancient Voices of Children), Robert Denham (This is Just to Say: 8 Songs on Texts of William Carlos Williams and Echoes from Tilden), Jacob Druckman (Come ‘Round), Simon Fink (22), Jason Harris (Piano Concerto), Paul Hogan (Pocket), Jong-chan Lee (Seventy-Eighty Self-Portrait), Yun-Jae Ok (The Battle), Peter Maxwell Davies (Eight Songs for a Mad King), Shawn Okbebholo (Yellow Einstein), Arnold Schoenberg (Pierrot Lunaire), Igor Stravinsky (Dumbarton Oaks), Robert Thurston (Ascendance), Yiorgos Vassilandonakis (Aeriko), Tyler Walker (Schemes and Consolations), and Chen Yi (Sparkle).
You can see Dr. Denham conduct using the YouTube links below:
Barber: First Essay for Orchestra (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Beethoven: Egmont Overture (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Harris: Piano Concerto (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Ibert: Capriccio (with Biola Conservatory New Music Ensemble)
Puccini: Vissi d’arte, Vissi d’amore (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.1 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.2 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.3 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.4 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks (with Biola Conservatory New Music Ensemble)
Walicki: Ox the Moron (with Biola Conservatory New Music Ensemble)
Barber: First Essay for Orchestra (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Beethoven: Egmont Overture (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Harris: Piano Concerto (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Ibert: Capriccio (with Biola Conservatory New Music Ensemble)
Puccini: Vissi d’arte, Vissi d’amore (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.1 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.2 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.3 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Mvt.4 (with Biola Conservatory Symphony Orchestra)
Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks (with Biola Conservatory New Music Ensemble)
Walicki: Ox the Moron (with Biola Conservatory New Music Ensemble)
