Richard Robbins, DMA

Director, Camerata

A passionate advocate for young singers, Dr. Robbins is director of choral activities at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he also teaches future educators about choral methods and conducting. His experience includes several years of teaching public school choir and conducting musical theater in Texas, where his award-winning high school choirs sang performances with major orchestras and touring pop groups through the Grammy foundation. Dr. Robbins was teacher of the year at Houston's prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and he has also served as associate director of the Houston Boychoir and founding director of the St. Paul's Choral Scholars, a groundbreaking professional youth chorus. He works with honor choirs nationally and internationally, for state music associations and as a festival conductor for the American Federation Pueri Cantores, the Vatican's official youth music organization. Other regional positions include chorus master of the Duluth Superior Symphony Chorus and northeast district chair of Minnesota ACDA. His own life was changed by his first musical experiences in a middle school boys' choir directed by Roy Finney, and he is happy to have the opportunity to work with young singers in the Twin Ports region. He and his wife, Jennifer, enjoy making music at home with their children and their dog.