For many students at Cornell, music is a sideline, an activity; for music major Robert Michael Whalen III, it has been much more than an academic pursuit. He is that rare individual in the music world who excels as a composer, performer, conductor and administrator. He has performed with every major ensemble on campus as a percussionist or vocalist and has made significant offstage contributions to several groups.

Jason Koski/University Photography

Robert Michael Whalen III in Sage Chapel.

His legacy includes the Cornell Avant-garde Ensemble (CAGE), a group he co-founded, and leadership in the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, Chorale, Wind Ensemble and Glee Club. Several of his original works have premiered here, from the ballet "Very Truly Yours" in 2004 at the Schwartz Center to choir pieces, and piano sonatas and chamber works in Midday Music concerts at Lincoln Hall. His recent work includes a German language song cycle and his honors project, "Three Places at Cornell," a symphony for chamber orchestra.

He also is a member of Cornell's Wind Symphony, Chamber Orchestra and Sage Chapel Choir; has performed solo marimba recitals and has conducted the Chorale and Symphonic Band in concert. "Other than that, I have no life," Whalen jokes.

As president and conductor of CAGE, he and about 60 students, almost all undergraduates, have premiered several original works by Cornell composers -- including Mandy Fang's amplified String Quartet No. 2 with percussion, Steve Gorbos' "pseudo-jazzy trio" for piano, vibraphone and trombone, "Alleluia (hey hey hey)," and a full-scale opera, "Bathsheba," by Jen Bellor '05.

"One of the most rewarding things about the group is [without it, Jen] might not have had a forum to do this kind of thing," Whalen says.

Whalen's piece for the Cornell Chorale, "Out on the Lawn I Lie in Bed," inspired by the W.H. Auden poem, recently premiered here and was performed on tour.

"[Principal conductor] James Miller has just done wonders with them," Whalen says of the Chorale. "I feel lucky to have worked with them. They're phenomenally musical; I've never seen a group that so powerfully conveys the meaning of music. They're not afraid to be emotional, either. As a conductor, it was invaluable to me to try to unify a musical expression and to pull 135 people together."

Whalen also conducted a research study analyzing the relationship between student satisfaction and musical environment at Cornell Dining facilities. "A lot of people said Okenshields was too loud," he says. "The two most important factors were the volume and the style of music. The strongest negative reactions were at Appel for breakfast, because they played country music. The most positive came from Noyes, where they played mid- to late-'90s alt-rock, quietly."

Whalen also finds time to enjoy hiking, kayaking, ballroom and Latin dance, Shakespeare, poetry, studying weather phenomena and visiting Fuertes Observatory. "I'm a big astronomy nerd," he says.

After graduation, Whalen will work at The Musical Journal, a scholarly research publication.

"Cornell really taught me how to work," he says. "I feel like I learned a great deal of humility. Surrounded by so many truly great people, you're going to come across someone with the potential to change your life and how you think and who you are.

"There's a more personal side about it, too. I didn't want what happened at Cornell to stay at Cornell," he says. "It's not just a period of my life, it's a continuum. The goal I had coming in was to get a wide range of experiences; I think I did that. That I did what I loved to do made it so much better."