Michael Robinson

Performances • Seminars • Installations

"Amazing music" "I love this piece" "Wow. You're great" - Halimah Collingwood, world music radio host on KHLU FM Northern California NPR station

“Michael Robinson makes great music.” “His knowledge is very deep.” - Pandit Jasraj, legendary North Indian classical vocalist, called "The glorious sun of music."

"Robinson mixes the organic virtues of raga with the synthetic ability of MIDI" "Making use of alternative tunings, and blending tradition and technology, Robinson is able to transcend cultural and spiritual boundaries"
- Amanda MacBlane, NewMusicBox

Michael Robinson uses computer instruments and Indian ragas as a basis for composition. He engenders performances by programming his meruvina to play fully notated scores in real time, voicing each work with sound samples of acoustic instruments from world music cultures together with tunings from South Asia.

The composer's music utilizes the unique expressive and technical capabilities of the meruvina, reflecting anahata nada. The spatial placement of sounds in Robinson's compositions are improvised by the meruvina in real time within unlimited boundaries of time and space and color And.

Robinson also combines music and visuals. An article in India West states the following: "Robinson accompanies his computer-performed music with improvised visuals. He plays an elaborate color synthesizer to produce an innovative and vibrant symbiosis of music and image." “The software enables me to generate evolving images in relation to the music,” explained Robinson. “This is a relatively new technology, and the visual experience it provides is a pleasing partner for my music.”

Robinson's visual improvisations are abstract and meditative in nature, with subtle and dynamic elements reflecting a fascination with modern Western art, and traditional art from South Asia, and the Far East. This results in a new interpretation of India's ancient ragamalas in real time.

Michael has performed numerous solo concerts at leading venues in New York City, Los Angeles and Hawaii, as well as live radio concerts in New York City and Los Angeles.

He gave a music/visual performance at the prestigous Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, where his appearance was one of five special events, including two acclaimed films that opened and closed the festival, a book signing by Ismail Merchant, and a symposium on Indian film. He also performed his unique blending of music and images at Borders Westwood, their flagship branch in Los Angeles county. In addition, Robinson designed a three-day music-visual installation for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

The composer-performer has been interviewed numerous times on NPR, Pacifica and college radio programs by a host of distinguished interviewers.

He has lectured on Indian classical music at UCLA's Department of Ethnomusicology, and computer music composition at California State University Dominguez Hills.

Robinson has received international praise for his compositions, writings on music, in-depth interviews with Indian masters, and writings about American masters.

For more information please call (310) 247-1802.