Robert Baldwin

Director of Orchestral Activities

Doctorate of Musical Arts - University of Arizona

Masters of Arts - University of Iowa

Bachelors of Music - University of Northern Colorado

Robert Baldwin is Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Utah. He is also Music Director of the Salt Lake Symphony and conductor of “It’s a Grand Night for Singing,” in Lexington, Kentucky. During his tenure at the University of Utah, the orchestral program has grown dramatically in size and quality, with noted performances at the 2007 CMS and NASM Conferences, the 2003 Utah Arts Festival, the 2005 Utah Music Educators’ Association Conference, and a tour of Austria for the 2006 Mozart Orchestra Festival. He has previously held conducting positions with the University of Kentucky, Lexington Philharmonic, New American Symphony, Northern Arizona University, and Flagstaff Symphony orchestras. Also an accomplished violist, Baldwin has held several positions, including professor of viola at Northern Arizona University and principal viola with the Arkansas Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, and Arizona Opera Orchestras.

In 1998, Dr. Baldwin had his European conducting debut with the Hermitage Camerata in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He will conduct in Finland, New York City, and Louisville, Kentucky during the 2008-09 season. Other recent guest conducting appearances include the Lexington Philharmonic, Flagstaff Festival of the Arts, Colorado State University, the Abilene Tri-Collegiate Opera, and numerous festivals and All-State Orchestras around the country. His performances and ensembles have been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today and Weekend Edition, as well as in the New Yorker magazine.

As a violist, experiences include guest appearances with the Amadeus Trio, and the Saint Petersburg and Stanford String Quartets. He has appeared as a soloist with the Flagstaff Symphony, SMU Festival Orchestra, and Sedona Chamber Music Festival. He was violist of the Arizona-based Coconino Chamber Ensemble from 1989-1999. Recent appearances include recitals in the US and Mexico, and performances with the University Faculty Chamber Players, the Utah Chamber Artists and the Utah Symphony.

Dr. Baldwin has studied in the United States and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, University of Iowa, and the University of Arizona, where he received the Graduate Achievement Award. His conducting teachers have included Mikhail Kukushkin, Alexander Polishuk, James Dixon, Duilio Dobrin, Eugene Corporon, and Gregg Hanson. He has studied viola with Jeffrey Showell, William Preucil, Sr., Ronald Smith and Vernon Ashcraft and has performed in master classes for Gustav Meier, Kenneth Kiesler, the Tokyo String Quartet, Atar Arad, and Alice Preeves, among others.

Dr. Baldwin has been active as a clinician on the local, state and national level. He has served on national committees and panels, written for important publications, and worked as a clinician and adjudicator. Most recently, he contributed to a book on preparing orchestral viola sections in the recently published Playing the Viola. In 2007 he was awarded the Higher Education Teacher of the Year award by the Utah chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

In his spare time he enjoys hiking, fishing, reading, and spending time with his family.