Robert Parris (21 May 1924, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 5 December 1999, Washington, D. C.) was a composer and professor of music.
Parris joined the faculty of The George Washington University in 1963 where he taught theory and composition.
Parris liked to describe himself as a 'colorist', and he therefore tended to write for small ensembles or a single instrument accompanied by piano or orchestra.
Parris was notorious for pushing instruments to the limits of any player's abilities: his solo violin sonata is particularly difficult, and the composer-directors of CRI believed his trombone concerto to be unplayable until they heard a recording of it.
In this period Parris—who taught himself Spanish—also turned to Borges for inspiration and produced the Book of Imaginary Beings (Part I) a work for flute (pic), violin, cello, piano, celeste, and percussion, from 1972.