Percussionist Robert Schulz has become a familiar face to Boston audiences, known for his dynamic and multi-dimensional performances with many of the area's premier ensembles. In reviewing Percussion Concussion, his 2008 solo recital with Dinosaur Annex, David Weininger of the Boston Globe hails Schulz as "...a superb percussionist, with phenomenal grace and control over both rhythm and texture." The Newport Daily Express once described his unique rendition of Steve Reich's Clapping Music as "Bare hands, bare feet, tour de force complete!" Admired by instrumentalists, composers and conductors alike for his collaborative skills, his expertise extends beyond the traditional orchestral repertory to contemporary solo and chamber ensemble works as well as into jazz, improvisational forms and world music.

Currently, he is principal percussionist for the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Musica Viva, Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble and Opera Boston. He will work on occasion with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Boston Ballet, and Pro Arte orchestras as well as the Boston Chamber Music Society. He has been a featured soloist with the Bank of America Celebrity Series on numerous occasions. In 2004, Schulz received a Grammy nomination for Best Small Ensemble Performance on Yehudi Wyner's The Mirror. That year he also gave the Boston premier of Tan Dun's Water Concerto with BMOP. He leads his own group, the BeatCity Art Ensemble, in performances for the Celebrity Series, Lincoln Center and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He has toured nationally and internationally with pipa virtuoso Wu Man and was the featured guest soloist for the CrossSound Festival in Juneau, Alaska in 2006. An experienced drummer in virtually all contemporary styles, he's performed at the Newport Jazz Festival with Dave Brubeck, as a last-minute substitute for the Boston Pops and, by special request, the San Antonio Symphony. This in addition to countless jazz, cover and original music bands dating back to the early 1980's. In May 2009, Schulz gave the world premier of Kick and Ride (a concerto for drumset and orchestra), written by Eric Moe at the request of Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Mr. Schulz' first teachers were John Rowland and Lynn Harbold of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Jan Williams of SUNY Buffalo, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree (1989). After moving to Boston in 1990 for study at the New England Conservatory, he completed a Masters in Jazz Studies with Fred Buda (1992) and was offered successive fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Center while pursuing a Graduate Diploma in Solo Percussion with Frank Epstein of the Boston Symphony (1994).

Now a dedicated teacher and mentor to many, current teaching affiliations include Brandeis, Harvard and Tufts Universities.