Robert Saunders, Ph.D

Robert Saunders is a music educator with over 20 years of experience teaching, performing, and producing music performances of varied genres. Robert has performed classical, bluegrass, jazz, rock-and-roll, and traditional dance music with amateur community ensembles, professional artists, and orchestras on cello, mandolin, bass, guitar, and violin. He has also worked at youth and adult popular music production and performance programs with underserved students and students with disabilities. Robert approaches teacher training and instructional design with experience as a performer and live audio engineer in varied settings, providing support for musicianship and music literacy skill development with community members and students.

Before moving to Augusta, Robert served as the Music Education Director of Miami Music Project, an El Sistema inspired non-profit program in Miami, FL. In that time he developed teaching artist training programs and created an instrumental music curriculum that adopts social learning and positive development pedagogy, all while leading the artistic vision of over 20 live and 12 virtual classical music concerts in those two years. Robert also maintained a regular performance schedule on mandolin and cello, performing with artists such as Gerard Schwartz, James Newton Howard, Mike Block, the New World Symphony, the Wynwood String Band, the Redbird Ramblers, among others.

Robert is excited to share his experience with a new generation of music teachers and performers. He is committed to giving new teachers tools they need to be successful in modern music classrooms and hopes to provide authentic learning experiences for community musicians as well.