About

Rob

Rob Stephens is a talented and versatile composer and music educator who fuses classical, avant-garde jazz,

neo/soul, and gospel music into a voice all his own. Whether he's doing experimental avant-garde jazz, touring with

R&B/Hip Hop artists like Ryan Leslie, turning out classical compositions and transcriptions, or doing live gospel

recording sessions with people like Grammy award winner Donnie McClurkin, Rob brings great musical integrity

and honesty to all of his work.

Rob was born in Savannah, Georgia, where his roots run deep: his maternal grandmother and aunt were both

schoolteachers there, and his late uncle, Edward V. “Mickey” Stephens, served as a Georgia State Representative for

Savannah. He has lived in Newark, NJ for most of his adult life (with stints in Brooklyn and Connecticut), and his

very first professional recording session was with Rev. James Cleveland and the New Jersey Mass Choir at

Symphony Hall in Newark — a city that has remained central to his musical life ever since.

Christine Myers of the Billings Gazette writes “Robert Stephens III is one of those rare musical birds whose

instincts are always right. The gifted player knows the difference between accompanying and soloing, and while he

shines as an instrumentalist, he has a deft, perceptive touch as a member of the ensemble, listening for (Monroe)

Kent's cues, following and enhancing, adept at pop, jazz, ballads, blues and ragtime...” as Musical Director for the

theater production of Unforgettable, The Nat King Cole Story.

Other musical theater credits include performing in the critically acclaimed musical “Low Down Dirty Blues”

directed by Tony Award winner Randall Myer and featuring Tony Award nominee Felicia Fields (The Color

Purple), Black to Broadway (the directorial debut of T.C. Carson of the sitcom Living Single), and many more.

He has also done arrangements and session work for Disney and ESPN's March Madness, and his string quartet

arrangement of the classic hymn “Holy Holy Holy” has been performed by the Chamber Ensemble of the Virginia

Symphony.

He has also recorded and performed with some of the finest artists in Gospel music, including Grammy Award

winning artists Rev. James Cleveland and Rev. Timothy Wright, and has performed with Hezekiah Walker, along

with Dorothy Norwood, The Harlem Gospel Singers, and many more.

Rob is the former Director of Music at Ha