Page, Robert
Page, Robert
Page, Robert, esteemed American conductor and pedagogue; b. Abilene, Tex., April 27, 1927. Following studies at Abilene Christian Coll. (B.A., 1948) and Ind. Univ. (M.M., 1951), he pursued graduate training at N.Y.U. (1955–59). He was director of choral activities at Eastern N.Mex. Univ. in Portales (1951–55) and at Temple Univ. in Philadelphia (1956 –75). From 1964 to 1976 he was music director of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. He served as director of choruses for the Cleveland Orch. from 1971 to 1989. He also was director of the Blossom Festival Chorus (1973–89) and asst. conductor of the Cleveland Orch. (1979–89). From 1975 to 1980 he was head of the music dept. at Carnegie-Mellon Univ. in Pittsburgh. In 1979 he became music director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. He also was a conductor and chorus master of the Cleveland Opera (1980–86), founder-music director of the Robert Page Singers (1982–98), director of choral studies of Carnegie-Mellon Univ. (from 1988), and director of special projects and choral activities of the Pittsburgh Sym. Orch. (from 1989). He likewise served as president of Chorus America (1990–93). Page has won notable distinction as a choral conductor and teacher. In 1998 he was named Pa. Artist of the Year.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire