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A native of Manitoba, Sid Robinovitch received his Doctorate in Communications
from the University of Illinois and taught social sciences at York University
in Toronto. Since 1977 he has devoted himself to musical composition,
having studied at Indiana University and at the Royal Conservatory of
Toronto with Samuel Dolin. He presently lives in Winnipeg, Canada, where
he works as a composer and teacher.
Having written for a wide variety of musical media, Robinovitch has
received commissions from performers such as the Elmer Iseler Singers,
the Canadian Piano Trio and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. His works
have been frequently broadcast on CBC radio, including original pieces
based on folk-tales from around the world and arrangements of Judeo-Spanish
folk songs. In 1990 his Sons of Jacob for violin and piano was nominated
for a Juno award as best classical composition, and in 1991 his Adieu
Babylon was the commissioned work at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National
Music Competition.
While many of Robinovitchs works are rooted in traditional or
folk material, they often have a distinctly contemporary flavour as
well. Dreaming Lolita , for example, is a dramatic retelling in poetic
form of the famous Nabokov novel, and in Psalms of Experience the choral
textures are infused with elements of Balinese music and rhythmic chanting.
In addition to his concert works, Robinovitch has written music for
film, radio and TV, where he is probably best known for his theme for
CBC-TVs satirical comedy series, The Newsroom.
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