Episode 5: Robyn Jacob – An Estuary; A Border

Robyn Jacob is a pianist, singer, composer and educator who lives and works on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples– Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səlíwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam) Nations.  She writes, directs, and performs in Only A Visitor, an avant-pop quintet known for its complex arrangements, virtuosic musicianship, and thoughtful, compelling lyrical content.  The band has released three albums to date.  In 2019 Only A Visitor collaborated with Sound Designer and Producer Nancy Tam to create Double Happiness: Detour This Way, a multimedia theatre production exploring Chinese diaspora in Western Canada.  ​

In her recent composition projects outside of Only A Visitor, Robyn has explored writing for unusual ensembles, as well as collaborations with visual artists and instrument makers.  In 2020 she was commissioned by Little Chamber Music to write a piece for string orchestra, dedicated to the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The resulting composition, A World in Each, was performed by forty-two distanced and masked string players on August 6th, 2020, for an audience of two: Hiroshima survivor Sachi Komura Rummel and her husband, Charles. 

In early 2020, Robyn celebrated the release of Earth Leaps Up, the first full-length album (on elsewhere music) from The Giving Shapes, Robyn’s collaborative duo with harpist and vocalist Elisa Thorn.  Since 2012, Robyn has been part of the multi-disciplinary arts collective Publik Secrets, currently Artists-in-Residence at the Hadden Park Field House (in partnership with the City of Vancouver).  She is co-leader of Gamelan Bike Bike, a Vancouver-based Gamelan featuring instruments constructed from bicycle parts and other unconventional materials.