Robert Wylie Lehman

ROBERT WYLIE LEHMAN, American conductor, organist, harpsichordist and composer, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in organ performance with honors from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a Master of Music degree in church music from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, and earned his Doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation of South Bend, Indiana where his particular area of study was pre-Reformation English liturgy with an emphasis on the Sarum Use and the ecclesiastical music of the English Middle Ages beginning with chant and culminating in the complex polyphony of the late fifteenth-century Eton Choirbook.  He has served on the staff of several distinguished churches, including the Washington National Cathedral (of which he is a Fellow), the Princeton University Chapel, and Saint Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, New York City.  For fourteen years he served as organist and choirmaster of historic Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut where, under his leadership, the choir and music program gained an international reputation for excellence.  He has appeared with numerous ensembles including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Handel Festival Orchestra, the Washington Chamber Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Brass, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, the Cathedral Choral Society, the Bach Society of St. Louis, the Carnegie Brass Quintet, the Fine Arts Brass Quintet, the Annapolis Brass Quintet, and the River City Brass Band – the original fully-professional English-style brass band in the United States – with whom he has also recorded. 

 

Maintaining an active career as a performer, Robert Lehman is featured often as a conductor and solo recitalist both in this country and abroad.  His discography includes works of J.S. Bach, French Classical Noëls for Christmas, music for organ and brass with members of the River City Brass Band, and works of nineteenth and twentieth century composers.  In addition, he has recorded with the Woodley Ensemble, of which he was the founding director, the Christ Church Choir, the Grace Cathedral (San Francisco) Choir of Men and Boys, and the Washington National Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys for Angel/EMI Records.  His compositions are published by several American publishers, are sung in cathedrals, churches, and concert halls, and have been recorded by leading choirs around the globe.  His work is heard regularly over NPR and the BBC and he has been the recipient of many awards and honors.  

 

Robert Lehman divides his time between Missouri, Connecticut, and New York with his wife and children.