About

Hello,
My name is Bryan Robert, and I am welcoming you to my website.

I am an internationally active and certified music producer (B.A.E. & S.E.N), multi-instrumentalist, and music educator (M.Ed. & B.Ed.). With over twenty years of experience playing a wide variety of musical genres in bands and studios, I have learned how to deliver high-end productions in the studio and on stage. As a music industry professional, I have experience as an artist and venue promoter, event organizer, tour manager, and stage manager.

I am most comfortable with pop, rock, and soul projects, albeit that I have working experience with a wide variety of musical genres. I have a wide interest in musical genres and I enjoy overlap and collaborations among them.

Please continue reading to get my complete backstory.

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Musical Richness
Growing up in the Netherlands, with access to uncensored radio broadcasting the best music from the U.S., the U.K., and the regions around us, I had access to the best of the best pop, rock, EDM, and urban music. My musical platter is a mixture of the best rock classics from the U.K. and the U.S., the best Swedish composers, the best Dutch DJ-Producers, and some more unconventional and obscure music genres. Additionally, while living in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., I found and learned to appreciate the beauty of more traditional music traditions. I discovered the world to be a source of musical richness, and that richness of musical influences inspired my perspective on music and making music.

I grew up in an environment where music was around me every day. I received a lot of support to learn to play musical instruments. I wanted to play multiple musical instruments because I wanted to be able to explain my musical ideas as efficient and understandable as possible. Also, I am on a continuous journey to improve myself as a musician, and I believe that understanding more musical instruments is a critical element of that journey. Because of the reasons mentioned above, I now play bass guitar, guitar, drums, piano, ukulele, and I am practicing my instruments almost every day.

Bands & Beyond
I have created opportunities to experience and learn about music from a multitude of perspectives. As mentioned before, I grew up in an environment which got me involved in music from a young age. However, it was not until I started to play in bands at the age of twelve when I understood what it means to be a musician. I have tried my best to become the best musician one can be, and I am still learning to this day. I learned about the roles of band members and their instruments, what people expect from musicians, and what expectations one can have from other people with whom they work.

When I went to college, I focused my studies on music-related subjects as well. First, I went to the Utrecht School of the Arts where I completed the Bachelor of Art & Economics in 2012 with the specialization of Music Manager. During this program, I gained work experience as a bookings agent, artist manager, and tour manager. I learned about the ins-and-outs of the music industry, and I found ways to satisfy my search for knowledge regarding the world behind the music.

Music & Elementary Education
Several years after completing the Music Manager’s program, I learned that my musicality and creativity was meant to be presented on stage and in the studio, rather than behind the scenes. I wanted a somewhat steady career where I was able to fund my musical projects and, therefore, choose to be an elementary school teacher. During the Bachelor of Education in Elementary Education program, I learned about the value of music in education and the strength of music in the social-emotional development of young children. As a result, I enrolled in a specialist program for Elementary Music Educators at the same time.

Around the time I completed both programs for elementary education, I was working full-time as an elementary music educator. While teaching the students at the inner-city school where I worked, I experienced being conflicted with the lesson content I used. I taught music the same way I had learned to do it, and my students were learning about music that had little to no relation to their close environment. Why was I not teaching about popular and contemporary music or musical traditions from all regions around the world? Why was my lesson content so incredibly Eurocentric?

In a search to improve my teaching methodology and to bring it closer to the environment of my students, I found a Master of Education in Music Education program at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. I left my home, family, and friends for the journey to improve myself as a teacher and, simultaneously, as a musician. During that program, which I completed in 2018, I specialized in the use of popular music in elementary education as well as teaching music in multicultural and pluralistic societies.

Here, Now, and the Future
Nowadays I live and work in the Netherlands, and travel back and forth to the United States regularly. I am still active as a session and touring musician and focus my personal development on the role as a music producer. I found a way to combine my work as a teacher with my love and passion for music. I made it possible to make music for the love of music, without needing music to pay for the bills. This situation means that I am freer as a musician and that I can fully commit to projects I like. I make music for the love of music, and I teach music for the universal strength of music. I do not dream anymore about being a rockstar because I have made it a reality in my way.

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