Robert Marshall
Robert enjoys a distinguished career as a conductor, choir trainer and singer. Born in Nottingham, he graduated from Edinburgh University with an Honours degree in Music, having studied with Kenneth Leighton.
As a singer, Robert was a Lay Clerk at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh from 1983 to 1992, going on to sing regularly with Cappella Nova in Glasgow during the 1990s and with whom he toured and made many recordings, as well as singing solo oratorio roles.
As a conductor, and whilst still at University, Robert won scholarships to study conducting in London and Dublin, the latter with Janos Fürst and the New Irish Chamber Orchestra. In 1984, he co-founded and directed the Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra and from 1984 to 1989 he was the assistant Musical Director and Chorus Master of Edinburgh Grand Opera, working with them on a variety of productions in the King’s Theatre there.
In 1994, he founded the Glasgow Chamber Choir and was the Chorus Master of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (1998–2005). Acknowledged by the The Scotsman as the “vision and driving forward behind a creative revolution” with the Choral, he created the commercial and artistic success that it remains today. During that time, he worked with conductors such as Roderick Brydon, Simon Halsey, Garry Walker, and Martyn Brabbins, and orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the SCO, and the Scottish Ensemble, on such works as Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Britten’s War Requiem, and Rachmaninov’s The Bells. He produced and directed the Choral’s first commercial CD.
During his career he has sung in and conducted many world premieres including works by Leighton, Sir James MacMillan, and Cecil Coles. More recently, he founded the Borders Chamber Choir and is the new Artistic Director of the Melrose Music Festival.
