Robert Sirota, composer

Photo by Ryuhei Shindo

Sirota’s musical language is personal and undogmatic, in the sense that instead of aligning himself with any of the competing contemporary styles, he follows his own internal musical compass.
— Allan Kozinn, Portland Press Herald

Hailed for his breadth of expressive range and mastery of craft, composer Robert Sirota has developed a distinctive voice, clearly discernible in all of his work – whether symphonic, choral, stage, or chamber music. Writing in the Portland Press Herald, Allan Kozinn asserts: “Sirota’s musical language is personal and undogmatic, in the sense that instead of aligning himself with any of the competing contemporary styles, he follows his own internal musical compass.” In a career spanning over half a century, Sirota has garnered distinction as composer, arranger, music executive and arts advocate. 

Robert Sirota’s chamber works have been performed by numerous ensembles, including Alarm Will Sound; Sandbox Percussion; Yale Camerata; yMusic; the Chiara, American, Blair, and Telegraph Quartets; and in festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, Yellow Barn, Cooperstown, and Bowdoin. Orchestral performances include the Seattle, Vermont, Virginia, East Texas, Lincoln (NE), Meridian (MS), New Haven, Greater Bridgeport, Oradea (Romania) and Saint Petersburg (Russia) symphonies, as well as conservatory orchestras of Oberlin, Peabody, Manhattan School of Music, Toronto, and Singapore. Sirota’s liturgical works include three major commissions for the American Guild of Organists: In the Fullness of Time, a concerto for organ and orchestra, Mass for chorus, organ and percussion, and Apparitions for organ and string quartet, as well as works for solo organ, organ and cello, organ and piano, and several hymns. 

Recent highlights include the music for Rising, an evening-length dance collaboration with choreographer Gabrielle Lamb, Pigeonwing Dance, and the Neave Trio; A Migrant’s Dream, a choral work commissioned by Judith Clurman for Essential Voices USA; the world premiere performances of Sirota’s third string quartet, Wave Upon Wave, at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall commissioned by the Naumburg Foundation for the Telegraph Quartet; his fourth string quartet Contrapassos, with libretto by Stevan Cavalier, commissioned by the Sierra Chamber Society for the Telegraph Quartet and soprano Abigail Fischer; Immigrant Songs, scored for choir, soloists, organ, recorder, chalumeau, oud, kanun, harp, and frame drum, commissioned for and premiered at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine; Luminous Bodies for yMusic and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, commissioned for and premiered at the Sarasota Music Festival; Hafez Songs, a Palladium Musicum commission for soprano, baritone, flute, oud, cello and piano, premiered at Newport Art Museum; and his Cello Sonata No. 2, commissioned and premiered by cellist Benjamin Larsen and pianist Hyungjin Choi. Sirota’s arrangements of songs for Paul Simon and yMusic were performed on Simon’s farewell tour, including an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 

In the summer of 2021, Sirota inaugurated Muzzy Ridge Concerts, a series of intimate performances by world-class musicians presented in his studio in Searsmont, Maine. Celebrating its fifth season in 2025, the concerts have become highly anticipated and frequently sold-out events. 

Robert Sirota is a compelling musical voice of our time. [Celestial Wind] definitely documents some of his finest creations for the organ.
— The American Organist

NEWS

PHOTOS

embodies an inner drama that, like so much music (or at least good music), enacts the way our inner lives are shaped by memory: how it haunts us, how it arouses our deepest emotions, how it shades all we see and do
— American Record Guide

VIDEO

Robert Sirota’s music seems ultimately conscious. The variety of sounds he manages to draw from the organ is staggering.
— Second Inversion

AUDIO

Summermusic
Laurie Carney, David Friend
Diners - taking the N train to Dinner at the Neptune Astoria, Queens
Robert Sirota
Approaches
Manhattan School Of Music
Diners
Robert Sirota
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Neave Trio

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Telegraph Quartet