Growing up with Appalachian folk and gospel music, and later spending years in the theatre, I came to appreciate the profound relationship between words and music—each capable of illuminating and transforming the other.
That understanding shapes every choral piece I compose and arrange.
Kevin Robison is an American composer and conductor whose career has spanned the concert hall, the theatrical stage, and the classroom. His original works and arrangements have been performed by more than 100 ensembles internationally, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Symphony of the Mountains, and recorded by groups such as The New York Virtuoso Singers and the William Baker Festival Singers. Published by Hal Leonard, Oxford, and ECS, his catalog also includes two holiday piano collections with streaming companion albums.
After earning his master's degree in choral conducting, Kevin spent seven years as Resident Director of Music at California's Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA). He later joined the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) as Assistant Conductor before embarking on a decade-long tenure as the first full-time Artistic Director of the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus (AGMC).
At PCPA, Kevin authored a book on singing for actors and music directed numerous regional productions, including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, for which he received a Los Angeles Robby Award nomination. He also began developing "The Acting/Singing Toolbox," a unique approach to musical theatre performance that he still teaches today. With GMCLA, he helped lead a groundbreaking South American tour and developed collaborative performances with Broadway artists Susan Egan, Lily Tomlin, Billy Porter, Jerry Herman, and John Kander, including the show, They Had It Coming: The Music of Kander and Ebb. During his time in LA, he also served as pianist for two stage productions written and directed by Del Shores: Sordid Lives and Blues for Willadean, starring Beth Grant and Octavia Spencer.
As Artistic Director of AGMC, Kevin helped shape the chorus into a recognized leader in choral theatre, highlighted by the East Coast premiere of Andrew Lippa's oratorio I Am Harvey Milk. In 2013, he worked with the AGMC staff and board to launch the Atlanta Women's Chorus and the umbrella arts organization Voices of Note, which has celebrated choral music across the spectrum of gender identity for more than a decade. He stepped away from the organization in 2017 to devote more time to composing, teaching, and music direction, and in 2025 was named Conductor Emeritus of the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus.
Kevin grew up in Appalachia, where he made his performing debut at age ten in Virginia's premiere outdoor drama, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in voice from the University of North Alabama and a Master of Arts in choral conducting from the University of Nevada, Reno. He lives in Atlanta, where he continues to compose, teach, and work in the theatre.