Robert Lombardo (composer)

Robert Lombardo (born December 29, 1932, Hartford, Connecticut; died January 11, 2023, Deerfield Beach, Florida) was an American composer, pianist, and pedagogue. He was a prolific composer of contemporary classical music, including operas, orchestral works, chamber music, vocal music, and solo instrumental pieces.

Lombardo studied composition with Normand Lockwood, Bohuslav Martinu, and Bernard Rogers at the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. He taught at the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music from 1957 to 1963. In 1963, he joined the faculty of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he taught composition and piano until his retirement in 1998.

Lombardo received numerous awards and honors for his compositions, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wisconsin Arts Board. His works have been performed by orchestras and ensembles throughout the United States and Europe. His compositional style is characterized by its eclecticism, incorporating elements of serialism, neoclassicism, and jazz. Some of his notable works include the opera Death of the Star, the Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, and several song cycles.