Robert's education and career have always been dual-natured. He holds a Masters degree in conducting, a Bachelors degree in theory and composition, and a Bachelors degree in analytical chemistry. Related areas of study included acoustics (the nature of sound), and psycho acoustics (which studies how the brain interprets sound). He has also been an avid amateur astronomer since the age of 9, having hand built two telescopes, and enjoys chasing tornadoes when his schedule permits.
Robert has guest conducted many of the major symphony orchestras in America including the Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Minnesota, Baltimore, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Dallas Symphony orchestras, and he served as Associate conductor of the New Britain and University Of Connecticut Symphony Orchestras while still in college. He has toured the US and Europe as conductor for Harry Connick Jr.’s “To See You” concert series, culminating in the PBS special “Romance From Paris” and concert for the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. He was conductor and arranger for Carol Channing from 1985 - 1997, and has conducted for other stars ranging from Rita Moreno to Georgio Tozzi, in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, Las Vegas, and Radio City Music Hall, and in shows from "Evita" to "The Pirates of Penzance." As a composer, arranger, and publisher, Robert has written for musical theater, symphony orchestra, PBS-TV, the 1993 Presidential Inauguration, and television commercials. His "Fanfare For Freedom" has become a staple in the symphonic Memorial Day and July 4th repertory, and he has become a favorite arranger for the Cincinnati Pops. Five of his Christmas arrangements have been recorded by the Cincinnati Pops with Erich Kunzel for Telarc, and the Owensboro, Houston, and Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestras. A recording of his “Commemoration” by the Tasmanian Symphony was released 2006, and it was performed live in the National Memorial Day Concerts of 2006 and 2009, televised nationally on PBS. His Christmas music has been an annual staple of the Flint Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday telecasts since 2001.
Robert has studied conducting with Jerome Laszloffy, Harold Farberman, Brian Priestman, Michael Charry, and Donald Pippin. Composition and orchestration studies were with Leroy Anderson, and Hale Smith. He has been treasurer of the Broadway Music Directors Committee, a member of the American Federation of Musicians, NATAS, and a past member of the American Symphony Orchestra League, and the Conductors Guild.