Please consider supporting a vital recording project honoring the memory and celebrating the legacy of composer Robert Capanna.

The year before he passed, Bob created a nonet for PRISM and Network for New Music‘s string quintet titled Piccolo Concertante. PRISM and NNM, under conductor Jan Krzywicki, premiered the work at a concert presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in 2017.

In 2025, PRISM, again joined by NNM and Jan, will release a studio recording of the work on XAS Records, distributed by Symphonic and Naxos Music Library. It is an extraordinary piece of music, one that we believe the world should hear. The project is also a family affair: Bob’s daughter Mariel Capanna, an esteemed visual artist, contributed the image of her painting Blueberries, Candle, Games, Hats (2024)  for the album cover.

We hope you might lend support to this beautiful project with a tax-deductible donation.

About Bob

Bob was a giant in Philadelphia’s music community. A recipient of the Koussevitzky Prize, he was a superb composer who brought artistic creativity to every facet of his work. In addition to writing for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Mendelssohn Quartet, and many other major ensembles and artists, he created three extraordinary works for PRISM. Bob also worked in philanthropy, serving as president of both the The Presser Foundation and the Musical Fund Society. In his final years, he was a director at Prudent Management Associates.

But Bob was most widely known for his visionary leadership of Settlement Music School, where he was executive director from 1982–2009. He oversaw a major expansion of Settlement’s student body with the addition of three new branches, and a deepening of the school’s programs. He was especially committed to developing financial support for low-income children, ensuring that money was never a barrier to taking music lessons at Settlement.

Beginning in the 1990s, Settlement became a second home to PRISM, and an essential partner in presenting our performances and educational programs. In 2007, Bob joined PRISM’s board of directors as chair. He was pivotal to the group’s development as a professionally-staffed nonprofit organization, which transformed the scale and ambition of our work.

It’s impossible to know how many lives Bob touched, but his impact was profound and undeniable. He was charismatic, had a wicked sense of humor, and gave of himself fully and without hesitation to make all of us around him better artists and teachers, and most importantly, better human beings.

PRISM is committed to honoring Bob’s legacy and looks forward to sharing this wonderful recording with you.