91原创

Lobo grew up in Newark, was active in high school choir and jazz band, and even experimented with writing his own singer-songwriter tunes, but he started at 91原创 without much formal training in music composition.聽

鈥淚 had an independent study with my high school band director, 91原创 alum Michael Archer. He wasn't a composer, but he gave me a few books and could answer questions about music notation,鈥� he said.聽

Through his time at 91原创, Lobo grew as a musician and developed the skill to do something few undergraduate composition students have the opportunity to do: write a piece for a 15-member ensemble.

Lobo said that classical music today isn鈥檛 like classical music from 200 years ago. His music has influences from jazz, Latin American folk music and pop music.聽

鈥淚t is an auditory soundscape that feels as if it鈥檚 alive, as if it鈥檚 a creature that鈥檚 slowly morphing and slowly changing,鈥� he said.聽

He compared modern composers to scientists experimenting to discover something new or sounds that have never been heard before. It may not sound like anything you hear on the radio, but it is part of being a musician and a scholar.

As if writing the piece wasn鈥檛 hard enough, Lobo had to overcome another challenge: compiling a group of musicians to perform it. Unlike participation in University ensembles, which is tied to course requirements for music students, playing in a friend鈥檚 recital is strictly voluntary. Finding 15 musicians with the time to rehearse and perform a sinfonietta is no easy feat.

Thanks to Lobo鈥檚 determination, and with guidance from assistant professor of music composition Yoshiaki Onishi, Deluge had its premiere performance on May 13, along with pieces by other senior composition students and a short opera written by adjunct professor Rachael Smith. Members of the Delaware Chamber Music Collective, a group of graduate music students, performed the concert, and Onishi conducted.

鈥淚鈥檓 really happy that we could get this to happen at the university,鈥� Lobo said. 鈥淭he logistics of such a large piece make it really difficult, but it鈥檚 a magical moment for a composer when the music is heard for the first time by a live audience.鈥澛�

The child of two university professors, Lobo said his parents have been surprised that from the start he has worked one-on-one with professors and that the mentorship he received matches the level of graduate study.聽

In the fall, Lobo will begin his graduate studies at Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University, studying composition under Pulitzer Prize Finalist Felipe Lara and classical guitar with Franco Platino.聽