Acclaimed for his rare combination of musical insight, creative inspiration and dazzling technique, the American pianist ROBERT HENRY is recognized internationally as a distinguished orchestral soloist, recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician.
Highlights of Robert Henry’s career include solo recital debuts at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Washington, DC’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and London’s Wigmore Hall. He has been presented in concerts, masterclasses and lectures under the auspices of the American Pianists Association, Chopin Foundation of America, National Gallery of Art, The Phillips Collection, Strathmore Hall, the universities of Alabama, California-Berkeley, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Arkansas State University and Georgia State University. In addition to his appearances throughout the United States, he has performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, The Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Russia and China. During the current season, he makes his debut with Ohio’s Springfield Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director Peter Stafford Wilson.
A renowned collaborator and chamber musician, Robert Henry has performed with eminent conductors Michael Palmer, Donald Runnicles, Robert Spano and Stefan Sanderling, cellist Shauna Rolston, soprano Mary Ann Hart, tenor Sergio Blasquez and the Pacifica Quartet. He has toured internationally with the Atlanta Boy Choir, under the direction of Fletcher Wolfe, and has accompanied the masterclasses of Jerry Hadley, Håkan Hagegård and Frederica von Stade. With Charae Krueger, he has presented the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven. Mr. Henry is also a founding member of the Summit Piano Trio, joined by violinist Helen Kim and cellist Charae Krueger.
Robert Henry has enjoyed phenomenal success in important piano competitions, ultimately winning the Gold Medal in four international competitions in the 2001-2002 season alone (Missouri Southern, New Orleans, Washington, Alfredo Barilli). These prizes stand alongside fourteen additional first place awards received throughout his career, including the
Clara Wells National Competition. On three occasions, juries have spontaneously created special prizes to honor his performances, including “Best Performance of a 20th Century Work” and “Best Performance of a Commissioned Work.”
Robert Henry earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland, with additional studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Glinka Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. He studied closely with pianists Larissa Dedova, Sergei Dzevanovsky, Anne Koscielny, David Watkins, Sergei Babayan and André Watts.
As an educator and pedagogue, Robert Henry regularly presents lectures, masterclasses, residencies and youth concerts. He has served as recitalist, clinician and juror for national, regional and state MTNA conventions and competitions, and operates an exclusive private studio in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2003, he was named Artist-in-Residence at the School of Music of Kennesaw State University, from which he received his undergraduate degree as well as a 2009 “Distinguished Alumni Award”; in 2017 he was appointed Director of Piano Studies. Dr. Henry is also Director of the famed Atlanta Boy Choir.
In response to Hurricane Katrina, Robert Henry coordinated and performed in the 2006 “Pianists for New Orleans” tour of the United States, raising over $100,000 for the stricken city. For his efforts, he was presented with the Distinguished Service Award of the Musical Arts Society of New Orleans.
Robert Henry’s debut CD, “Twelve Nocturnes and a Waltz,” was released on the Muuz label in 2010 to rave reviews. The recording is a collection of some of the world’s best loved melodies, encompassing Nocturnes of Chopin, Fauré, Grieg, Liszt, among others, and including the world premiere of Alexei Stanchinsky’s forgotten Nocturne from 1907. Also featured is Mr. Henry’s own published transcription of guitarist Chet Atkins’ Waltz for the Lonely. He was also winner of two 2010 Telly Awards for the documentary about his recording experience, “The Making of Twelve Nocturnes and a Waltz.” Mr. Henry is regularly heard locally and nationally on NPR’s Atlanta Music Scene and Performance Today, and has been featured in American Music Teacher, Clavier and Gramophone.
Robert Henry released the world premiere recording of Brahms’ re-discovered Albumblatt, available as a single on iTunes. This work is included on his 2015 album “As the Songbird Sings: Music of Schubert and Brahms.” Other recent projects include a live recording of Brahms and Dvorák piano trios, a recording of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano with Charae Krueger and a recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I.
Robert Henry, his wife, Meryl, and their young son, Lucas Sebastian, live in historic Marietta, Georgia. He is a Steinway Artist.