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.
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.