Pianist and composer Robert Fleitz performs, commissions, and writes music to curate evocative, multi-disciplinary experiences for audiences. To this end, he has personally commissioned 120 solo, chamber and performance art pieces, and has given the world premiere to hundreds more, notably including composers Tan Dun and Paola Prestini. Praised for “mesmerizing” and “commanding” playing (The New York Times), and for musicality with “a delightful ease and lightness” (I Care If You Listen), his prolific career in performing both classical and new music has led to appearances in 24 US states and 13 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He was the winner of the André Boucourechliev Prize in the 2020 International Piano Competition of Orléans.

As a composer, Robert’s music has been described as “dreamy, flowing,” and having a “surreal glow” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Robert has been recently performed or commissioned by a diverse array of artists, including the Metropolis Ensemble (NYC), Orkest de Ereprijs (Netherlands), Jumblies Theatre (Toronto), the Druskomanija Festival (Lithuania), the Off-Broadway theatre piece Babel, and Hilary Easton Dance Company.

As a curator, Robert has co-founded several initiatives that champion new works. He forms escapeVelocity with violinist Giancarlo Latta; the Swan City Piano Festival, a multifaceted concert series in his hometown Lakeland, FL; Artificial Dawn, an improvisation collective; and Wind-Up Elephant, a toy instrument duo with Carrie Frey. Finally, he founded PROMPTUS, a transdisciplinary performance collective that explores the intersection between devised theatre, contemporary music, and experimental choreographic practice. He has written digital curriculum for Juilliard Global Ventures and The New York Philharmonic, and is a member of interdisciplinary educational performance collective the Bridge Arts Ensemble.

Robert Fleitz holds education from The Juilliard School (B.M. & M.M.), where he was one of ten graduates to receive the Career Advancement Grant. He studied piano with Hung-Kuan Chen and Julian Martin, and has also worked with Pi-hsien Chen, Tema Blackstone, Cory Smythe, Lydia Artimiyw, and Ching-Wen Hsiao. He studies composition with Eric Wubbels, and has also worked with Martijn Padding, Simon Frisch, and Molly Joyce. Robert grew up in Lakeland, Florida, where he began studying piano with his father Patrick Fleitz at age 4. He is now based in New York City, where he lives with his partner, the composer Krists Auznieks.

www.robertfleitz.com