Bio

Born on November 17, 1965, in Los Angeles, California, Robert Simon started playing the classical guitar when he was 15 years old. He studied with well known Checkoslovakian guitar Professor George Vick for two years and then attended California State University, Northridge, where he studied with concert guitarist and pedagogue specialist Professor Ron Purcell. During his studies at CSUN Robert was one of the few students to receive the Segovia Scholarship three times and also get selected to perform in a master class given by the well known classical guitar virtuoso Julian Bream. Robert has also performed for Christopher Parkening, Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Oscar Giglia. Robert's extensive classical guitar repertoire includes many virtuoso masterpieces, such as Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" and J.S. Bach's "Chaconne in D minor". In 1994 Robert graduated from CSUN and received his M.M. degree in Classical Guitar Performance. In 1998 Robert released his debut album "Spanish Dreams", his first solo album featuring 12 original instrumental compositions in the classical, new age and Spanish guitar style. During this time Robert became very popular as a solo artist, performing at many different venues within the United States, Spain and South America. Two years later he released the album "Flamenco Passion", first instrumental album of the Nuevo Flamenco group the Robert Simon Project. This CD includes 5 original compositions, 4 cover songs by Ottmar Liebert and Jesse Cook, and Mason Williams "Classical Gas". From 2000-2002 Robert and Adriana promoted "Flamenco Passion" with their performances at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA. In 2002 the Robert Simon Project released their second album "Guitarra y Canto Tropical", which replaced their earlier release "Flamenco Passion". This album includes 12 instrumental pieces and 5 vocal selections. Robert and Adriana mix flamenco and classical guitar styles with Spanish, South American and Latin American rhythms including rumba, candombe, salsa, Latin pop and Latin jazz. This is the group's latest album and by far their most successful, selling numerous copies within the United States, Europe and South America. Since 2003, Robert has been a featured artist at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA and performs several shows a week in the evenings from 6-10, playing instrumental selections from his latest album "Guitarra y Canto Tropical". For purchasing of CD's go to Robert's official website at www.robertsimonproject.net. Check out Robert's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/robertsimonguitar for the latest news, music and upcoming live appearances.