He continues to perform in concerts with a diverse repertoire ranging from Irish ballads to opera to contemporary art songs and works from the classical tenor canon.
Several composers have written works specifically for him, including Mark Adamo, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Lukas Foss, Stephen Hough, Libby Larsen, Lowell Liebermann, Gian Carlo Menotti, Tobias Picker, Ned Rorem, and David Del Tredici.
[1] By the age of 12 he was performing challenging tenor songs with full orchestras on NBC radio, such as 'Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life' from Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta.
[13] In the 1960s, White performed as a member or guest artist with several early music chamber ensembles including the Clarion Concerts Orchestra, the Renaissance Quartet and Trio Flauto Dolce.
[14][15][16] In 1962, he sang Mathan in the United States premiere of Handel's Athalia at Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan in a concert conducted by Harold Aks and presented by the Interracial Music Council.
[20] In December 1965, White was the tenor soloist in both Handel's Messiah and Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor with the New York Chamber Orchestra under conductor Hermann Scherchen for concerts at Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center.
[21][22] In 1966, he was the tenor soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with contralto Lili Chookasian, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor Eugene Ormandy at Lincoln Center.
[27] In 1969, he was the tenor soloist in the Clarion Music Society's (CMS) performance of Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine at Avery Fisher Hall.
[28] That same year, he portrayed Egeo in Simon Mayr's Medea in Corinto at Alice Tully Hall for the CMS with Marisa Galvany in the title role.
[33] In 1975, he was the tenor soloist in a concert of works by Giovanni Battista Sammartini presented by the CMS at Alice Tully Hall with conductor Newell Jenkins.
[34] White returned to Avery Fisher Hall as the tenor soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor with The National Chorale and conductor Martin Josman in 1976.
[35] In 1977, he performed a concert of Bach duets and arias with soprano Judith Bettina at the Washington Square Music Festival under conductor Henry Schuman.
[36] That same year, he was featured in a pair of concerts with flutist Eugenia Zukerman and the renaissance ensemble Calliope at the 92nd Street Y, and returned for a command performance at the White House for President Jimmy Carter and Prime Minister James Callaghan.
[4] In a 1978 review in The New York Times historian Joseph Horowitz stated: The Spirit of John McCormack was invoked more than a little at a wonderful recital by Robert White at the Metropolitan Museum.
[41] Later that year, he appeared as Alcibiade in the United States premiere of Agostino Steffani's La liberta contenta presented by the CMS at Alice Tully Hall.
[44] That same year, he appeared in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's performance of Igor Stravinsky's Renard under Michael Tilson Thomas at Avery Fisher Hall.
[46] In March and April 1983, he undertook a sell-out tour of 23 concerts throughout Ireland under the title of “I Hear You Calling Me – Robert White Remembers John McCormack”.
[51] That same year, he performed a recital of works by Friml, Romberg, Herbert, Hindemith, Korngold, Milhaud and Grainger with Samuel Sanders at Town Hall in Manhattan; and sang Benjamin Britten's song cycle Les Illuminations with the New York City Symphony.
[56] In 1993, The New York Times recounted an entertaining story in which a bug flew into White's mouth during an outdoor concert at Wave Hill in Riverdale, the Bronx, while he was singing a song by Stephen Foster.
[58] In 1994, he was a feature soloist in a concert honoring philanthropist and opera singer Alice Tully, who was a close friend of White's, at Lincoln Center, along with the New York Philharmonic, soprano Jessye Norman, conductor James Levine, and other music luminaries.
[67][68] In 2001, he gave a recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring the world premieres of 19 art songs, including works by Mark Adamo, Milton Babbitt, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Lukas Foss, Stephen Hough, Libby Larsen, Lowell Liebermann, Gian Carlo Menotti, Ben Moore, John Musto, Tobias Picker, Ned Rorem, William Jay Smith, David Del Tredici, and Brian Zeger; all of which were composed specifically for him.