Robert Hart Baker (born March 19, 1954) is a symphonic and operatic onductorand

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

based in Belleville, IL. Previously York, PA and Asheville, NC, United States. He has toured extensively, in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, and Asia. Among the many concerts he has led have been the full works of the

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

symphonies and the

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually ref ...

tone poems, in addition to most of the orchestral works of

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, Dvorak,

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, and

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...

. Artists with whom he has performed include pianists

Joaquín Achúcarro Joaquín Achúcarro (born November 1, 1932) is a Basque Spanish classical pianist. Biography and career Achúcarro was born in Bilbao, Spain, and grew up in the difficult years of the Spanish post-war period. He began piano lessons at the Bilba ...

Alexander Peskanov Alexander Peskanov (; ) is a Ukrainian-American concert pianist and composer. Life Alexander Peskanov was born in Odesa, Ukraine, where he attended the Stoliarsky School of Music, studying first under Rosalia Leontievna Molodietzkaya, who was a ...

Valentina Igoshina Valentina Igoshina (born 4 November 1978 in Bryansk, Bryansk Oblast) is a Russian classical pianist. She has won several international piano competitions. Biography Valentina Igoshina began studying piano with her mother, and first took lessons ...

and

Christopher O'Riley Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program ''From the Top''. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative. Early life O ...

; violinists

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologis ...

Sarah Chang Sarah Chang ( ko, 장영주; born Young Joo Chang; December 10, 1980) is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. Sh ...

Pamela Frank Pamela Frank (born June 20, 1967) is an American violinist, with an active international career across a varied range of performing activity. Her musicianship was recognized in 1999 with the Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given t ...

, Eugene Drucker,

Ilya Kaler Ilya Kaler (born June 2, 1963) is a Russian-born violinist. Born and educated in Moscow, Kaler is the only person to have won Gold Medals at all three of the International Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 1986); the Sibelius (Helsinki, 1985); an ...

and Xiang Gao; violist

Paul Neubauer Paul Neubauer (born in Encino, California, in 1962) is an American violist. Neubauer was a student of Paul Doktor, Alan de Veritch and William Primrose. In August 1980, aged 17, he won the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and Workshop ...

; cellists

Carter Brey Carter Brey (born 1954) is an American cello virtuoso. He had a prolific solo career from 1981 until 1996 when he became the principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic, a position he still holds today. Biography Carter Brey was born in Montc ...

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

David Finckel David Finckel (born December 6, 1951) is an American cellist and influential figure in the classical music world. The cellist for the Emerson String Quartet from 1979 to 2013, Finckel is currently the co-artistic director of the Chamber Music S ...

Zuill Bailey James Zuill Bailey, better known as Zuill Bailey (born 1972) is a Grammy Award-winning American cellist, chamber musician, and artistic director. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Juilliard School, he has ...

and

Paul Tobias Paul H. Tobias (also known as Paul Edward Huge (pronounced hugh-gee); born in August 1963, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American guitarist best known for his involvement with hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has collaborated since 199 ...

; flutist

James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstan ...

; French hornist

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

, trumpeter David Hickman, baritone

Sherrill Milnes Sherrill Milnes (born January 10, 1935) is an American dramatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera. His voice is a high dramatic baritone, combining good legato with an inc ...

; soprano Angela Brown; bass-baritone

Justino Diaz Justino is a name which is used as both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Justino de Azcárate (1903–1989), Spanish lawyer and politician * Justino Díaz (born 1940), Puerto Rican operatic bass-barit ...

and many other acclaimed artists. He has guest conducted at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

and for the Spoleto U.S.A. and appeared at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. Baker won a 1977 Composition Award from the

National Federation of Music Clubs The National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) is an American non-profit philanthropic music organization that promotes American music, performers, and composers. NFMC endeavors to strengthen quality music education by supporting "high standards o ...

, and

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

contemporary music programming awards with New York Youth Symphony in 1977 and the York (PA) Symphony Orchestra in 1986. The St. Louis Philharmonic under Baker's direction won a 2004 Telly Award for best classical local cable TV production. Baker has also performed as an

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

. He has been involved in several community outreach programs usually sponsored by his various orchestras. He has served as visiting professor at the University of North Carolina-Asheville,

Mars Hill College Mars Hill University is a private Christian university in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The university offers 35 undergraduate majors and includes a school of nursing and graduate schools in education, criminal justice, and management. From 1859 t ...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.Butler 1976, p. 18 It is the younger of the two major inst ...

, and the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

. He has also been involved in outreach programs through the

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

Penn State York Penn State York is a commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University located in Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania. It enrolls 742 students as of 2021. The York campus was established in 1939 to provide technical education and to allo ...

, and the Logos Academy.

Education

Baker holds diplomas and degrees from the following institutions:

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

(preparatory division - NYC) ('69-'71), Academie Internationale d'ete (Nice, France) 1970, Mozarteum Conservatory (Salzburg, Austria) 1971,

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , count ...

(Riverdale, NY) 1971,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(A.B. ''cum laude'' - 1974),

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

(M.Mus. '76, M.M.A '78, D.M.A '87),

York College of Pennsylvania York College of Pennsylvania is a private college in Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania. It offers more than 70 baccalaureate majors in professional programs, the sciences, and humanities to 3,500 full-time undergraduate students. It also off ...

(Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, 1999). He has studied conducting privately with

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

James Yannatos James Yannatos (March 13, 1929 – October 19, 2011) was a composer, conductor, violinist and teacher. He was a senior lecturer at Harvard University until his retirement in 2009.

Arthur Weisberg Arthur Weisberg (April 4, 1931 – January 17, 2009) was an American clarinetist, bassoonist, conductor, composer and author. Biography Weisberg was born in New York City. He attended The High School of Music & Art, majoring in bassoon and s ...

Henry Bloch Henry Wollman Bloch (July 30, 1922 – April 23, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the co-founder and (since 2000) the chairman ''emeritus'' of the American tax-preparation company H&R Block. Henry and his brother, Ric ...

, Johannes Somary, and

Otto-Werner Mueller Otto-Werner Mueller (23 June 1926 – 25 February 2016) was a German-born conducting, conductor. He was a professor of conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, as well as at the Juilliard School in New York City. Mueller was bo ...

. He has also studied in

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es given by

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

, Harold Farberman,

Morton Gould Morton Gould (December 10, 1913February 21, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. Biography Morton Gould was born in Richmond Hill, New York, United States. He was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities ...

Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993) was an American classical music conductor. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years. Life Abravanel was born in Salonika, Rumelia Eyalet, Ottom ...

Jorge Mester Jorge Mester (born April 10, 1935, Mexico City) is a Mexican conductor of Hungarian ancestry. He has served as the artistic director for the Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río, Veracruz, since it was founded in 2014. Biography He studied condu ...

, Sorghum Commissiona, and

William Steinberg William Steinberg (Cologne, August 1, 1899New York City, May 16, 1978) was a German-American conductor. Biography Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, ...

Orchestras

Baker has worked with a number of orchestras, but his primary work lies with the following: * Belleville Philharmonic (Belleville, IL) as conductor and music director * The Saint Louis Philharmonic (

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

) as Conductor and Music Director. He has been with the Orchestra since 1982. * The Asheville Lyric Opera (

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

) as Principal Guest Conductor * The

Asheville Symphony Orchestra The Asheville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The symphony's current conductor and Music Director is Darko Butorac who succeeded Daniel Meyer in 2018. History Lamar Stringfield organiz ...

(

) as Conductor Emeritus He has previously held positions with: * The Harrisburg Choral Society (

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

)as Director. * The

as Conductor and Music Director (Asheville, NC: 1981-2004) * The York Symphony Orchestra (

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

) as Conductor and Music Director. * The York Symphony Chorus and Chamber Society (

) as Director. * The York Youth Symphony as Music Director and Conductor Laureate (York, Pennsylvania: 1987 -1999) * The

New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a tuition-free music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Cha ...

at Carnegie Hall (New York, New York: 1977-1981) * The Putnam (NY) Symphony Orchestra (1979–1981) as Conductor and Music Director * The Danbury (CT) Little Symphony (1978–1981) * The Connecticut Philharmonic Orchestra (1974–2001) as Founding Director and Conductor *

Bach Society Orchestra of Harvard University {{More citations needed, date=May 2020 The Bach Society Orchestra, known as BachSoc, is Harvard University's premier chamber orchestra. The orchestra is staffed, managed, and conducted entirely by students. Each year, the members of the orchestra s ...

(1972–1974) as Conductor and Music Director * The Bicentennial Festival Orchestra (1976) as conductor at

Boston Symphony Hall Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, opened in 1900. Designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, it was built for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the h ...

* The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra as principal oboe.

Guest conducting

;In the United States Baker has been a guest conductor for the

Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra (RIPO) is a professional orchestra in Rhode Island. Following the death of music director Bramwell Tovey in 2022, Tania Miller was named Interim Principal Conductor. Francisco Noya holds the title of Resident ...

, Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra (

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

), Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and the

South Carolina Philharmonic The South Carolina Philharmonic is an orchestra based in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Performances are held at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia. The current concertmaster is Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian. The orchestra was founded in 1963 ...

. He has also conducted at New York City's

and for orchestras in Montana, Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. ;Internationally Baker has been guest conductor for the Busan Symphony Orchestra (

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, South Korea), Orquestra do Norte (

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, Portugal), Zurich Symphony Orchestra (Switzerland), Virtuoso Strings of Messina (

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

, Italy), Szeged Philharmonic Orchestra (

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, Hungary), Vratsa State Philharmonic Orchestra (

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

, Bulgaria),

Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México The Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (OSEM) is the symphony orchestra of the State of Mexico. It was founded in 1971 and is based in Toluca, Mexico State, Mexico; its home hall is Sala Felipe Villanueva. History On August 27, 1971 ...

(Mexico), and the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the ''Regina Orchestral Society'' in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the ''Regina Choral and Orchestral Societ ...

(Canada). He has also conducted in

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level. Sabadell pioneered the Ind ...

(Spain). ;Opera and ballet * Asheville Lyric Opera - ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'', ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'', ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'''' Sun Journal'' (23 March 200
"'Madame Butterfly' to be performed in New Bern"
Retrieved 22 December 2011 . *

Brevard Music Center Brevard Music Center is a classical music venue and festival held annually located in Brevard, North Carolina. It has been the home to their international summer institute and festival that enrolls about four hundred students, age fourteen and o ...

(

Brevard, North Carolina Brevard is a city in Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 7,609 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Transylvania County. Brevard is located at the entrance to Pisgah National Forest and has become ...

) - ''Carmen'' *

Connecticut Opera Connecticut Opera was a professional, non-profit, opera company based in Hartford, Connecticut, and a member of OPERA America. The company presented three fully staged opera productions during an annual season. It was founded in 1942 under the dir ...

- ''Madame Butterfly'', Jujube's Dinner *Cullowhee Music Festival (

Cullowhee, North Carolina Cullowhee
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

) as Music Director and Conductor (1987–1989) - ''La traviata'', ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'', ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' *

Festival dei Due Mondi The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...

(

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

, Italy) and

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...

as Assistant Conductor - worked on productions with

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept h ...

Christian Badea Christian Badea (né Cristian Badea) is a Romanian-American opera and symphonic conductor. A native of Bucharest, Romania, Badea's early training was as a classical violinist in Bucharest and Brussels. He later studied conducting at the Juillia ...

, and Joseph Flufferfelt

Other projects

He has worked with composers

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

, Suzanne Bloch. He has given score readings and analysis. He worked with Richard Schulman of Asheville on Schulman's ''Camelot'',

allmusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Credits: ''Camelot Reawakened''
Retrieved 22 December 2011. and he is an acknowledged expert on the orchestral works of

Horatio Parker Horatio William Parker (September 15, 1863 – December 18, 1919) was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the undergradu ...

(better known as teacher to

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

) and on the music of Caryl Florio (aka William Robjohn), the English organist who became the in house composer at the famous

Biltmore Estate Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 a ...

Publications and recordings

* ''St. Louis Holiday Spectacular'' DVD (won national Telly award in 2004 for best classical local cable production) * ''Kirkwood Children's Choral Holiday Video'' (finals of NBC's Clash of Choirs) and ''2010 Holiday Pops Concert'' * ''Stories of the Land - Along dutch Country Roads'' (Collaboration with colleague Stephen Gunzenhauser for the Lancaster-York Heritage Region DVD series - Baker conducted the film score itself. * Arranged ''Nocturne for String Orchestra''. Composed by Borodin. LP and CD. Vanguard Records * Conductor ''Piano Concertos'' Composed by Liszt. Szeged Philharmonic, Hungary. CD. Aurefon Records. * Conductor ''Brahms- Symphonies No.s 1 & 3'', ''Mahler- Symphony No. 4'', ''Dvorak- Symphony No.8'', Strauss- ''

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is ...

'', the works of Carl Florio, all with Asheville Symphony Orchestra. CD. Sonari Records * Conductor ''Holst-The Planets'', ''Wagner - Rienzi Overture'', ''Ravel - Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2'', all with the St. Louis Philharmonic. CD. Sonari Records * Conductor ''Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto'' with David Perry and the Cullowhee Music Festival Orchestra. CD. Sonari Records. * Conductor ''Liszt - Malediction'', ''Strauss - Don Juan''. all with Cullowhee Music Festival Orchestra. CD. CMF Label. * Conductor ''Symphony in C-sharp minor'' St. Louis Philharmonic. LP only. Ernest Bloch Society records.

References

;Further sources
Robert Hart Baker's professional resume
on Price Rubin Artists Management. Retrieved 22 December 2011.

on CHL Artists Management. Retrieved 22 December 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Robert Hart 21st-century conductors (music) Living people 1954 births Harvard University alumni Musicians from York, Pennsylvania Yale School of Music alumni Pupils of Leonard Bernstein Pupils of Aaron Copland 21st-century American musicians