Robert Owens (composer) facts for kids

Robert Lee Owens III (born September 19, 1925 – died January 5, 2017) was a talented American musician and actor. He was known for his amazing piano playing, writing beautiful music, and acting in movies and on stage.

Robert Owens's Life Story

Early Life and Musical Start

Robert Owens was born in Denison, Texas, but he grew up in Berkeley, California. He started playing the piano when he was just four years old, taught by his mother, Alpharetta Helm. By age eight, he was already writing his own music, and he began performing for audiences at age ten.

Education and European Adventures

After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Owens used a special program called the G.I. Bill. This program helps military veterans pay for their education. He traveled to Europe to study music. From 1946 to 1950, he studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris in Paris, France. In 1952, he performed his first concert as a pianist in Copenhagen, Denmark. He continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Music in Austria from 1953 to 1957.

Return to the U.S. and Move to Germany

In 1957, Owens came back to the United States. He started teaching music at Albany State College in Georgia. During this time, he began to set the poems of famous writer Langston Hughes to music, creating beautiful songs.

In 1959, he moved to Hamburg, Germany, and then to Munich in 1964. In Germany, he started working as a film actor. Soon, he became very popular and was in demand as an actor for both movies and stage plays. He also continued his work as a composer and pianist.

His Opera and Later Years

Robert Owens wrote one complete opera called Kultur! Kultur!. An opera is a play where most of the words are sung to music. This opera was first performed in Ulm, Germany, in 1970. Later, an English version was performed in the United States in 2015. Robert Owens passed away in Munich, Germany, on January 5, 2017.

Robert Owens's Musical Works

Robert Owens wrote and performed his very first Piano Concerto when he was only 15 years old. He wrote many songs throughout his long career. He often used the words from poems by famous writers like Paul Laurence Dunbar, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes.

In 2006, he wrote a piece called the Idomeneo Quartet for oboe and strings. This piece was inspired by an opera of the same name by the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A special collection of Owens's published music, concert programs, photos, and other important items is kept at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Awards and Honors

Robert Owens received many awards for his amazing contributions to music and the arts:

• International Lifetime Achievement Award: This award was given to him in 2008 by the National Association of Negro Musicians.
• The Preisträger International Lifetime Achievement Award: He also received this award from AnDante Kulturmagazin.
• "Lift Every Voice" Legacy Award: In 2009, the National Opera Association gave him this award for his lifetime achievements in opera.
• Friend of the Arts: The Kappa chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota honored him in 2009.
• Artist-in-residence: He was also an Artist-in-residence at several universities. This means he was invited to live and work at these schools for a period, sharing his knowledge and talents with students. These universities included the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Texas Southern University, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.