Rob was born and raised in a musical family in Connecticut. His mother taught piano and was an elementary school music teacher. His sister was a church organist. His family always sang in church and school choirs. One of Rob’s favorite memories is coming home after church each Sunday and turning on the radio to listen to Texaco’s Box at the Opera.
When Rob was young, he studied piano and trombone. When he and his wife moved into their first home, they bought a piano. Their 2 children (Eleanor and Margaret) each took lessons on several instruments and sang at every opportunity. There was always music in their home!
Rob is an engineer by trade, but music gave him pleasure during his career. He took organ lessons and enjoyed singing in church choir and men’s chorus, as well as in a Bluegrass group. While living overseas, Rob played piano for Sunday evening worship services for nearly eight years.
When he moved to Tucson in 2001, Rob started singing Barbershop. When he retired from engineering in 2008, he became more involved with the craft of Barbershop music. He has taken training through the Director’s College at Harmony University offered by the Barbershop Harmony Society, focusing on directing techniques as well as vocal production and rehearsal techniques.
In addition to directing the Saddlebrooke Barbershop Chorus, Rob has been privileged to direct men’s and mixed choirs numerous times at his church. Rob says, “One of my favorite pieces is Stephen Paulus’s Pilgrim’s Hymn. It is an expressive piece with lush harmonies and many mixed meters.”
Rob lives in Tucson with his wife June. His goal for the Saddlebrooke Barbershop Chorus is to help each of the 20-plus men in the chorus to increase their joy of singing in the 4-part harmony barbershop style, to enlarge the repertoire of songs they love to sing, and to expand their knowledge of the art of singing.
