Harold Hall ("Hal") Robinson (born July 29, 1952Birth records
of

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

) is an American classical

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

player. He is currently the principal bassist of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

."A career with strings attached"
by Ruth Rovner in the ''

Northeast Times The ''Northeast Times'' is an American newspaper, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that primarily targets the Northeast Philadelphia community. Philadelphia Newspapers, parent of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', bought the ''Northeast Times'' in 19 ...

'', 17 March 2005

Early life and education

Robinson was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, the son of Keith Robinson and Dorothe Fowler. Both parents were members of the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

: his father was the principal bassist, and his mother was a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. Hal and all four of his siblings—

cellists A person who plays the cello is called a cellist. This list of notable cellists is divided into four categories: 1) Living Classical Cellists; 2) Non-Classical Cellists; 3) Deceased Classical Cellists; 4) Deceased Non-Classical Cellists. The ce ...

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

and Keith Jr., and violinists Erica and Kim—became professional string players with notable careers. Robinson graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Houston and studied bass at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

. Among his prominent teachers are Warren Benfield (Chicago Symphony), and Paul Ellison (Bass Professor Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, Houston Symphony).

Musical career

From 1975 to 1977 he held the position of principal bass of the Albuquerque Symphony (now the

New Mexico Symphony Orchestra The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (NMSO) was a symphony orchestra in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It operated from 1932 until 2011, when it declared bankruptcy. History The orchestra, originally called the Albuquerque Civic Symphony, was organized by ...

) and played in the

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the fir ...

Orchestra. In 1977, he became assistant principal bass of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. During this time he was on the music faculty at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

."University of Houston School of Music presents 'A Festival of Strings' " (program booklet), Houston: University of Houston, 1979 In 1982 Robinson was a prizewinner at the

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Solo Competition. In 1985 he was appointed by

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

to the position of principal bass of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

, where he performed until 1995, when he assumed his present posts as principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra and a member of the faculty of the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

Solo performances

Robinson has performed as a soloist with the American Chamber Orchestra, the Greenville (South Carolina) Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Pops Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. He has instructed

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es in several countries. The ''Concerto for Bass, Harp and Strings'' was composed expressly for Robinson by composer and fellow bassist Dave Anderson and was given its

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

by Robinson with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Hal Living people American classical double-bassists Male double-bassists American classical musicians Classical musicians from Texas University of Houston faculty 1952 births People from Houston Musicians from Philadelphia Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra