About
Beginning piano lessons at age 7, Robert was involved in a diverse range of music making throughout his youth. He studied composition at Birmingham Conservatoire with Richard Causton and Edwin Roxburgh (BMus: 2006-10), and then at the Royal Academy of Music under Simon Bainbridge (MMus/LRAM: 2010-12, PhD: 2016-2022).
Over his time at the RAM, Robert’s work was awarded various prizes including the 2011 Eric Coates Prize, the 2012 Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize, and the 2016 Priaulx Rainier Prize. On completing his MMus with distinction, he was awarded a DipRAM, The Charles Lucas Memorial Prize for best composition, and the Edwin Samuel Dove Prize for special merit during studentship.
Robert also received valuable tuition from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Oliver Knussen and Christopher Austin during his studies, and whilst attending the Britten-Pears contemporary music course at Aldeburgh in 2013.
Described in the press as ‘…ear-tingling […] genuine music.’ (Geoff Brown, The Times), ‘…incident-packed, capricious and emotional…’ (Colin Anderson, Classical Source), and ‘…work of substance and resonance…’ (Paul Conway, Musical Opinion), Robert’s work has been performed across the UK and abroad by a wide range of professional, non-professional, amateur and young musicians; programmed and commissioned by major festivals; and broadcast on BBC television and BBC Radio 3.
Recent commissions include Two Souls (for 4 harps, 2 narrators, choir and organ) – based on the stories of Hypatia and St Catherine of Alexandria and premiered at the 2022 Three Choirs Festival, and String Quartet in E ‘Grasses’ – a co-commission from the 2026 Presteigne Festival and the 2026 Romsey Chamber Music festival based on a series of paintings by Charles MacCarthy.
Current commissions include two song cycles – one for for The Hermes Experiment of R S Thomas settings from his late volume The Echoes Return Slow, and the other setting Shakespeare’s Fairyland poems for The Erda Ensemble.
Alongside professional commissions, Robert also continues to write and arrange music for local young and non-professional musicians, such as with his recent work To the Wye, commissioned by Hereford Symphony Orchestra in 2024 to help highlight the environmental concerns surrounding the River Wye. Passionate about music-making at all levels, Robert also works within many educational and community contexts, such as on a recent song-writing project with army veterans through the Three Choirs Festival, and a ‘Songs of the River’ outreach project with children at Hay-on-Wye Primary School through Hay Music.
(June 2026)