Robert Honstein, seated at piano, with Concert Composition students.
Robert Honstein, Director of Concert Composition at NYU Steinhardt, has been named a 2025 commission recipient by the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, one of the most respected supporters of new concert music in the U.S.
Each year, the Fromm Music Foundation selects a small group of composers from a highly competitive pool to support the creation of new work. Being chosen places Honstein among artists who are actively shaping what contemporary music sounds like today—and where it’s headed next.
Honstein is an internationally performed composer who brings his professional practice directly into the classroom, encouraging close collaboration, experimentation, and real-world artistic development. His work with students emphasizes finding your own voice while engaging deeply with performers, ensembles, and new ideas.
Honstein’s Fromm commission highlights the strong connection between NYU Steinhardt’s composition community and the broader world of contemporary music—where what you study in the classroom connects directly to what’s happening on the concert stage.
"I am deeply honored to receive this commission from the Fromm Foundation. It is a privilege to bridge my professional creative practice with my work at Steinhardt, where I am constantly inspired by our incredible students,” said Honstein. “I am also thrilled that this new work will be premiered in 2027 by the renowned Colin Currie Percussion Quartet in London.”
