About

Composer and pianist Robin McLaughlin (b. 1994) has had work performed throughout the United States and Canada, and has been recognized by ASCAP and the American Composers Forum. Classical Voice of North Carolina writes that her music is "sure to delight the most discerning of listeners." Drawing inspiration from metaphor and the sacred, Robin writes music that is colorful and energetic. 


Robin teaches K-12 General Music and Choir at The Covenant School in Greensboro, North Carolina. She frequently composes sacred works for use in liturgical settings, such as the album-length works God With Us and For This Moment. She has held residencies at Arts Letters and Numbers and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and has been a fellow at the Norfolk New Music Workshop and the University of Nebraska Lincoln Chamber Music Institute.

 Robin's saxophone quartet On This Day won the American Composer’s Forum’s Showcase Award in 2017. Recent projects include Forest Cathedral for the Ancia Saxophone Quartet, Falling Up for Catchfire Collective, In the Beginning for flute and lighting design for Krisztina Dér Noble’s flute/light project, Luminaries for percussionist Isaac Pyatt, a Rosie the Riveter-inspired work for the Greensboro-based Women’s Wind Ensemble, a piece for clarinet and actor for clarinetist Kyle Kostenko, and a saxophone and fixed media piece for Emily Loboda. She has also been commissioned by saxophonist Steven Stusek, violinist Maddy Klee, and trumpeter Gavin Tranter.


Robin’s music has been presented at Nief-Norf’s Genre Lines summit, as well as the 2018 NASA Biennial Conference. Her work has garnered performances by numerous ensembles, including the Bechtler Ensemble, Red Clay Saxophone Quartet, the ANCIA Saxophone Quartet, Present~Continuous, the Oraia Reed Quintet, the Ohio University New Music Ensemble, the Fresno State New Music Ensemble, the Norfolk Contemporary Ensemble, and the Houghton College Philharmonia.


A tireless teacher of beginning piano students, Robin's beginning piano music is published through FJH. Robin was the founder of the innovative Greensboro-based chamber music ensemble Catchfire Collective before moving on to pursue more solo artist endeavors.


Robin received her Masters in Music Composition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a dual-BM in Music Composition and Music Education from Houghton College. Her primary instructors have been Alejandro Rutty, Mark Engebretson, Sarah Hutchings, and David Davies, and she has had additional studies and masterclasses with Eric Ewazen, Martin Bresnick, Kristin Kuster, Cameron Britt, Zae Munn, Michael Schelle, and Jay Batzner. 
C.V.