Paula Robison facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Paula Robison
Paula Robison at Tannery Pond Concerts, June 20, 2010
Background information
Born	(1941-06-08) June 8, 1941 (age 84) Nashville, Tennessee
Occupation(s)	Soloist, teacher
Instruments	Flute

Paula Robison, born on June 8, 1941, is a famous flute player and teacher. She has performed all over the world and taught many students.

Early Life and Learning
Starting Her Music Career
A Busy Career in Music
Recordings
Personal Life
Discography
See also

Early Life and Learning

Paula Robison was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Her dad, David Robison, was a writer for plays, movies, and TV shows. Her mom, Naomi Robison, was an actor. Paula's family had many artists, including musicians and dancers. Her grandmother taught piano, and her uncle, Jerome Lawrence, was a playwright.

When Paula was young, her family met the singer Paul Robeson, who became her godfather. Later, her family moved to Hollywood, California. Paula started playing the flute in her junior high school orchestra. She also learned piano from her grandmother.

During a difficult time in history, her parents faced challenges with their work in Hollywood. This meant they didn't have much money, so the family moved to her grandmother's farm in New York. After some years, they returned to California. Her dad started writing under a different name for popular TV shows like Lassie and Bewitched. When the difficult time ended, he began writing under his own name again.

Paula went to the University of Southern California for two years. She studied flute, theater, and dance there. She then auditioned for the Juilliard School, a very famous music school, and graduated in 1963. She also spent summers studying with a great flute teacher, Marcel Moyse, at the Marlboro Music School and Festival.

Starting Her Music Career

In 1961, Paula Robison joined Young Concert Artists, a group that helps young musicians start their careers. That same year, she played with the famous conductor Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic orchestra.

In 1966, she made history by becoming the first American to win First Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition. After this big win, she started touring a lot, playing concerts with orchestras and giving solo performances. Many of her early recitals were with the pianist Samuel Sanders.

A Busy Career in Music

In 1969, Paula Robison became a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. She played in their very first concerts at the new Alice Tully Hall. For five years, she even had her own concert series there called "Paula and..." where she performed with different guest artists.

She also played many times at Carnegie Hall, another famous concert venue. She performed a wide variety of music, from classical pieces by Bach and Mozart to modern works. She even played Brazilian music like Choro and Bossa Nova with Brazilian and American musicians.

Paula Robison also gave concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for over 30 years. She toured internationally and continued to perform at the Marlboro Festival with other famous musicians like Rudolf Serkin. She has worked with many talented pianists, harpsichordists, and guitarists.

From 1971 to 2003, she helped direct the Noontime Concerts at the Spoleto Festival in Italy and Charleston, South Carolina. For her contributions to Italian culture, she received special awards. She also toured with different music groups, playing many concerts each year.

In 1973, Ms. Robison joined the faculty at the New England Conservatory, where she still teaches today. She also taught at the Juilliard School in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, Paula Robison discovered Brazilian music called choro. She started playing this lively music with Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista and guitarist Romero Lubambo. Their group created a new and exciting sound they called "Mistura Nova," which means "New Mixture." They played together for over ten years.

She also started projects called "With Art," where she worked with visual artists in unique spaces. For example, she was an Artist-in-Residence at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where she combined music with art.

In 2007, she created a new English version of the words for Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, a piece she loved. She even performed the speaking part herself in several concerts.

Recordings

Paula Robison has made many recordings throughout her career. Her recordings for Vanguard Classics, including the complete sonatas by J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel, have been reissued. She has also recorded for other labels like Sony and Mode.

In 2006, she started her own recording company, Pergola Recordings. Through this company, she has released many critically praised albums, often collaborating with other musicians.

Personal Life

Since 1971, Paula Robison has been married to Scott Nickrenz, who was a music curator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Discography

Here are some of Paula Robison's recordings:

Pergola Recordings

PR1041 - Classic (Paula Robison, flute; Timothy Hester, piano)
PR1040 - Caprice (Paula Robison, flute; Paavali Jumppanen, piano)
PR1039 - Playing New York (Paula Robison, flute; Steven Beck, piano)
PR1038 - Paula Live! Music of Frazelle, Liebermann, Kirchner, and Prokofiev (Paula Robison, flute; Timothy Hester, piano; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Ayano Kataoka, percussion; Yefim Bronfman, piano)
PR1037 - Rio Days, Rio Nights (Paula Robison, flute; Romero Lubambo, guitar; Sergio Brandao, bass and cavaquinho; Cyro Baptista, percussion)
PR1036 - Paula Robison, John Gibbons: J.S. Bach Sonatas BWV 525-530 (Paula Robison, flute; John Gibbons, harpsichord)
PR1035 - Paula Robison: Edvard Grieg, Joachim Andersen: Music for Flute and Piano (Paula Robison, flute; Samuel Sanders, piano)
PR1034 - By The Old Pine Tree: Music by Stephen Foster and Sidney Lanier (Paula Robison, flute; Krista Bennion Feeney and Calvin Wiersma, violins; John Feeney, bass; Samuel Sanders, piano)
PR1033 - Mozart in Love: Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Paula Robison, flute; Charleston Symphony Orchestra; Bundit Ungrangsee, conductor)
PR1032 - One Hundred Roses: Seven Italian Serenades and Dances, with music by Godard, Chaminade, Griffes and Massenet. (Paula Robison, flute; Charleston Symphony Orchestra; David Stahl, conductor)

Vanguard Classics

MC 123 - The Art of Paula Robison – A collection of all-time favorites from the Vanguard Archives (Paula Robison, flute and various artists)
ATM CD 1271 - Mozart Flute Quartets: Complete (Paula Robison, flute; Tokyo String Quartet)
ATM CD 1615 - Carmen Fantasy: Bizet-Borne, Fauré, Delibes, Massenet, Taffanel, Dutilleux, Gaubert (Paula Robison, flute; Samuel Sanders, piano)
ATM CD 1616 - Paula Robison – The Romantic Flute (Paula Robison, flute; Samuel Sanders, piano)
ATM CD 1493 - Bach Flute Sonatas, Flute Partita (Paula Robison, flute; Kenneth Cooper, harpsichord; Timothy Eddy, cello)
ATM CD 1494 - Handel Flute Sonatas: Complete (Paula Robison, flute; Kenneth Cooper, harpsichord; Timothy Eddy, cello)
ATM CD 1837 - Brasileirinho: Choros, Chorinhos, Bossas and Bach (Paula Robison, flute; Romero Lubambo, guitar; Tiberio Nascimento, guitar; Sergio Brandao, Cavaquinho; Stanley Silverman, guitar and mandolin; Cyro Baptista, percussion)
ATM CD 1860 - Ravel – Fauré – Debussy: Works for Flute Viola and Harp (Paula Robison, flute; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Heidi Lehwalder, harp)

Other Recordings

MODE210 - Lei Liang – Brush Stroke: World Premiere recording of Lei Liang's "In Praise of Shadows" (Mode)
MODE161/3 - Berio Sequenzas complete and solo works (Mode)
BRIDGE: 903 - Duos from Malboro: A collection of performances from the Marlboro Music Festival including the 1968 recording of Schubert's Introduction and Variations with Rudolf Serkin, piano (Bridge Records)
ISBN: 1-879985-11-X - Places of the Spirit: Music and Images Inspired by the Berkshires. CD and catalogue collaboration. (Pucker Gallery, Boston)
ISBN: 1-879985-19-5 Places of the Spirit: The Holy Land. A trip to Jerusalem with painter Jim Schantz, a book of images and a CD of music inspired by the journey. (Pucker Gallery, Boston)
"Places of the Spirit: Music for Peace and Healing", a 2 disc compilation from the original Pucker Gallery releases.
CD: KICC67 - Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy (Paula Robison, flute; Tokyo Akademiker Ensemble; Fumiki Asazuma, conductor) (King Records)
80403-2 - Flutes: Beaser, Song of the Bells (Paula Robison, flute; Solisti New York Chamber Orchestra; Alasdair Neale, conductor), The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water (Robert Beaser, piano) and other performances (New World Records)
CD: MLS 45523 - Flute, Greatest Hits: Greensleeves, Fauré Sicilienne, Genin Carnival of Venice, and other performances (Paula Robison, flute; Tokyo Akademiker Ensemble) (CBS Masterworks)
CD: SMK 46250 - Marlboro Festival, 40th Anniversary: Nielsen Woodwind Quartet (Paula Robison, flute; Joseph Turner, oboe; Larry Combs, clarinet; William Winstead, bassoon; Richard Solis, horn) (SONY Classical)
LP: MRS 3 - Schubert: Introduction and Variations on "Trockne Blumen" (Paula Robison, flute; Rudolf Serkin, piano) (Marlboro Recording Society)
CASS: 6299 - Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Presents Schubert and Schumann: Schubert Variations for Flute and Piano (Paula Robison, flute; Richard Goode, piano) and other live performances (Musical Heritage Society)
5169151 - Canciones Latinas (Paula Robison, flute; Eliot Fisk, guitar) (Musical Heritage Society)
5169160 - French Masterpieces for Flute and Piano: Works by Fauré, Boulanger, Ravel, and Poulenc (Paula Robison, flute; Ruth Laredo, piano) (Musical Heritage Society)
5184518 - Paula Robison Plays American Masterworks: Works by Copland, Barber, Roy Harris, and Robert Beaser (Paula Robison, flute; Timothy Hester, piano) (Musical Heritage Society)
7038 - Mountain Songs: Works by Beaser, MacDowell, Richards, Foster, Corea, Schuman, and Ives (Paula Robison, flute; Eliot Fisk, guitar) (Musical Heritage Society)
MMD0152Y/53W - Spoleto Festival USA: Chamber Music at the Dock Street Theatre (Musical Heritage Society)
MMD0040/41 - Poulenc: Complete Music for Wind Instruments and Piano The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Musical Heritage Society)
MMD0093Z - J.S. Bach – A Musical Celebration: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Musical Heritage Society)
MHS4523 - G. Philipp Telemann: Six "Konzerte" for Flute and Concertante Harpsichord (Paula Robison, flute; Anthony Newman, harpsichord) (Musical Heritage Society)
MHS3704/5 - G. Philipp Telemann: Twelve "Methodical" Sonatas for Flute and Continuo (Paula Robison, flute; Samuel Sanders, harpsichord; Laurence Lesser, cello) (Musical Heritage Society)
ML5768 - Saint Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals (Paula Robison, flute; New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor and narrator) (Columbia Masterworks)
M39006 - Paula Robison: Romantic Favorites (Columbia Masterworks)
CS362(5751) - Flute Concertos of 18th Century Paris: Concertos for 5 flutes (Paula Robison, Samuel Baron, Harold Bennett, Lois Schaefer, and Jean-Pierre Rampal, flutes) (Connoisseur Society)
CRI SD 439 - William Schuman: In Sweet Music (Paula Robison, flute; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Heidi Lehwalder, harp; Rosalind Rees, soprano) (CRI)