Robert Palmer was born in 1915 in Syracuse. After basic studies in piano, violin, and theory, he entered the Eastman School of Music as a pianist, but soon decided to major in composition under Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson. After completing bachelor's and master's degrees at Eastman, he studied with Roy Harris in 1939 and with Aaron Copland at the opening session of Tanglewood during the summer of 1940. Palmer taught composition, theory, and piano at the University of Kansas, then joined the Cornell faculty in 1943, where he replaced his own teacher, Roy Harris. At Cornell, he was responsible for founding the Doctor of Musical Arts program in composition and guiding it to national prominence. He was named Given Foundation Professor of Music Composition in 1973, Professor Emeritus in 1980.

During 1955-56, Palmer held the George A. Miller chair at the University of Illinois, and he has been a visiting composer at campuses throughout the United States. He holds awards and fellowships from the National Academy of Arts and Letters (1946), Guggenheim Foundation (1952 and 1960), Fulbright program (1960), and the National Endowment for the Arts (1980). His music has been commissioned by the Columbia Broadcasting System, Koussevitzky Foundation, Minneapolis Orchestra (now the Minnesota Orchestra), Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Fromm Foundation, Kindler Foundation, and many others.

Photo: Charles Harrington, Cornell University Photography