Mel Mobley

A native of Texas, Mel Mobley (b. 1966) currently resides and teaches in Monroe, Louisiana. He holds degrees from the University of Texas, University of South Florida, and University of Illinois. Active as a performer, composer, and advocate of new music, Mel has been involved in new music festivals and performances all around the country. Performed here and abroad, his works include orchestral, band, chamber, choral, and electronic music. His largest work to date, a chamber opera titled Sylvan Beach, premiered in the spring of 2010. His percussion trio with piano titled [pleez], (plez), /pliz/ was released on the 2013 Revello Records compact disc, Piano Concerti with Percussion Orchestra.

Commissions include Tributaries (Louisiana Music Teachers Association), Concerto for Wood (Monroe Symphony Orchestra), [pleez], (plez), /pliz/ (Three-Headed Monster), and multiple individual commissions. His recent collaborations with dancer Tina Mullone have worked to break down the barrier between dancer and musician as well as between live and recorded performance.  His compositions seek to inspire varied and new interpretations of the possibilities of music/art from both performers and audiences.  Mel was the 2014 Louisiana Music Teachers Association (LMTA) commissioned composer of the year and has had recent premieres performed by the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, The Black Bayou Brass Trio, and the ULM Wind Ensemble.

Dr. Mobley is the head of music composition and theory at the University of Louisiana at Monroe where he currently holds the Biedenharn Endowed Professorship in Music. He is an active member of the Louisiana chapter of the National Composer’s Association, USA (NACUSA) as well as a member of the Louisiana Composers’ Consortium (LCC), the Southeastern Composers’ League (SCL), the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music (SEAMUS), and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).