-
Dr. Robert Watson, piano
Dr. Robert ("Rob") Watson is Professor of Piano at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), where he also coordinates the innovative Performance Science Centre Lab in the School of Music. Among his former students are faculty members at University of Southern California, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, several community colleges in Texas and California, and universities in Korea and Taiwan. Soli Deo Gloria.
An active solo piano recitalist, Rob Watson has performed in the US, England, Italy, Bulgaria, China, and Japan. He is also known for creating unique performance experiences such as "The Musician's Gambit: A Tale of Prokofiev's 9th Sonata, Chess, and the State." As a chamber musician he has appeared with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, with members of the L.A. Philharmonic and the Pacific Symphony; he also collaborated as piano soloist with Pacific Ballet. His recordings on the Educo label feature 20th-century works such as Dmitri Kabalevsky Sonata no. 2 in E flat, op. 45 and Richard Cumming 24 Preludes.
Based on his work in CSUF's Performance Science Centre Lab, Professor Watson has lectured and given clinics on the psychology of musical performance, applied anatomy and physiology, and musicians' health and wellness for international, national, and regional pedagogy conferences and music teacher organizations in China, Japan, Canada and the US. These have included Music Teachers' Association of California, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, Vancouver Piano Sessions, Piano Teachers Music Guild (Tokyo), and China National Piano Pedagogy Conference (Beijing). He is also in demand for masterclasses, competition adjudications, and residencies throughout the US, Japan, and China.
Since Spring 2000, Dr. Watson has curated CSUF's community outreach program, "Pianists-In-Performance" that has sent Cal State Fullerton pianists to perform for service organizations, educational institutions, and private homes throughout SoCal over 325 times. Through an intramural grant process, "P-I-P" also sponsors international artists for on-campus recitals, masterclasses, and Q & A, such as Sergei Babayan, Minsoo Sohn, George Li, Dang Thai Son, Alexander Kobrin, Boris Slutsky, Gabriela Montero, etc.
For his current solo recital project, Rob Watson's "Pairs for Solo Piano" reimagines the solo piano recital as an 8-course meal, with the pianist as master chef artfully building a "menu" from antipasto to post dinner, paired carefully with appropriate wines. Projected culinary backdrops with bistro seating on stage for selected couples create a unique experience.