Musician / Writer

Panamanian composer, musicologist, conductor, educator and writer. His music has been performed or recorded by orchestras, chamber groups and soloists such as the Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra, the Venezuela Symphony, Dal Niente Ensemble, Violet Duo, Carmen Borregales, Eddy Marcano, Ana Catalina Ramírez, Marco Antonio Mazzini, Roberto Alonso Trillo, Laurel Zucker, Pacifica String Quartet or the Sejong Dream Tree Orchestra of Korea. He has conducted orchestras in North, Central and South America, working mainly with young musicians and programs for social development through music. In 2018 he won the Roque Cordero Prize for Composition in its inaugural version for his work Requiem por los hijos del cañaveral for mixed choir and percussion - two years later he obtained the award for Cantata para un soldado, for soprano and mixed ensemble. His works Sur for Banda Sinfónica, Veraguas for Symphonic Orchestra and Danza de la Aurora for harp have received honorable mentions in this prestigious competition. Incendio (2021) for solo cello and El martirio de Francisca de Carbajal (2022) for soprano and orchestra have  also been awarded the Cordero Prize. His musical works are published by Cayambis Music Press. Robles is staff researcher at CIHAC AIP and research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He is pianist and accordionist for Los Guayas. Robles has appeared on several albums as accordionist, composer, arranger and conductor.

 

His research work focuses on music of the Caribbean, Panamanian traditional music and music by Panamanian composers. He is currently working on two parallel projects, one on the history of the violin in Panama and a study on the drum culture of Azuero together with Dr. Carlos Camacho. For the latter, the researchers received a generous grant from the Panamanian government. He holds a doctorate in Music Composition (North West University) and a master's degree in Historical Musicology with a concentration on medieval and Renaissance music (University of Chicago) and in musical composition (University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music). He is an associate researcher for the Salamanca Research Group on Museums and Ibero-American Heritage (GSIM).

 

As a writer, he has published short stories and poetry, obtaining national awards. He teaches creative writing workshops, has served as juror for national literature competitions and his work has been selected for various anthologies, such as "Cuentos de Panamá", printed by the University of Zargoza Press. Robles has been published by the National Institute of Culture, the Signos Foundation, Ediciones El Duende Gramatico, and by the South African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, among others.