Robert Honstein was born in Syracuse, NY during the first year of the greatest decade known to mankind—the eighties, of course. He played piano throughout his youth, occasionally assaulted inanimate objects, and ever so often phonated his vocal chords, frequently to his parent’s chagrin. In high school he studied composition at the Julliard Pre-College division , played bass in a rock band, and piano in a cocktail-jazz combo. Following a brief stint in the hinterlands of Inglaterra, he commenced studies at Yale University where he graduated with honors as a music major while studying composition with John Halle , Matthew Suttor and Kathryn Alexander. Seeking respite from the frigid Northeast, he headed south where he completed a Masters of Music degree in composition at UT Austin . While at UT, he studied with Kevin Puts , Dan Welcher , Russell Pinkston , Donald Grantham, and Yevgeniy Sharlat. His music has been performed around the country and received awards from ASCAP and SCI. He has also participated in and had works performed at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival , the College-Conservatory of Music’s Music04 festival, the Ecoles d’Art Americaines’ summer program at Fontinebleau, the Oregon Bach Festival , the Bard Composer-Conductor Institute and the 2005 Chamber Music Institute at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Since finishing his Master's degree Robert has been working as a pianist, singer, arranger and copyist in the Austin area. Robert hopes you enjoy his music.
