Dr. Robert Lehmann | Conductor, Violinist, Music Educator

It’s funny how things happen when you just do what you do because you love it. With the push to make my business one for creatives, makers, movers and doers; both families and individuals. I have crossed paths with many people who I have previously worked with in a prior “career.” Dr. Robert Lehmann is one of those instances. Back when I was in music school, he was, the conductor of the orchestra and a professor at the University of Southern Maine, School of Music where he is still teaching classes, conducting the orchestra, and in charge of the strings studies program. A little role reversal this time where I was the conductor with the vision and he was the contributing musician of the music. I sat down with him after our shoot, for an Artist Profile Interview which you can catch at the bottom of this post.

As an orchestral conductor, I feel there is a presence that one carries with them. Maybe it’s the white tie and tails, but it is one that has a lot of mystery and conviction. That was the inspiration for these images, professional but full of contrast. As a musician, one who studied conducting myself, I know the strenuous studying and analysis that goes into preparing a score for performance. A conductor does more than flap their arms around on the podium. Knowing each instrument’s part and how it relates to the other parts at that moment, and how it fits into the overall picture of the piece of music is no easy task, nor is it one you can go into it half-assed. This work starts at the beginning of a musician’s career with learning the basic knowledge and skills of learning the art of music. Dr. Lehmann told me in how he became interested in music.

Growing up in a family of chamber musicians, that would get together every Sunday and play together. He begrudgingly tagged along, mainly for the treats his grandmother would make for them for after the practice session. After a while, he became interested and started joining them. As he says in the interview below, he kept coming back to music and ultimately made it his career.

In addition to his professorial duties at the University, he holds several conductor positions as Music Director of the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra in Massachusetts, the New Hampshire, White Mountain Bach Festival, and the Director of the Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra here in Maine. Oh, and he is also an active violinist. Lots of juggling but if you catch a performance of his, which I encourage you to, you can tell he loves what he does. Watch the video interview below, and feel free to reach out to me if you, or you know someone, who might be interested in working with me.