BIO

A native of Florida , Robert Rivard holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University , where he was a piano pupil of Edward Kilenyi. He also holds the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Louisiana State University , where he studied with Milton Hallman. He has performed solo recitals in Louisiana , Florida , Georgia , Oklahoma , and California and he has been recognized as an "Artist in the Community" by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. Currently, Rivard is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Columbia College of Missouri and teaches Music Appreciation for the Online Campus. He also maintains a weblog where he writes about his passion: classical music's healing gifts. 

In 1986 Dr. Rivard gave the world premiere of ten childhood piano compositions of the German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. Six of these works were recorded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that same year and distributed through Symposium Records, UK . The recording was warmly received in the USA , England , France , Germany , and Japan . In 2000 Dr. Rivard re-issued a digitally remastered CD of the world premiere recording. Copies of the CD can be found in the Furtwängler Archives in Zürich, Switzerland, and in the libraries of Florida State University and Louisiana State University. Rivard has recorded for Symposium Records works of the French composer Charles Alkan, which were recorded in Wigmore Hall, London and released on cassette in 1988. 

Since 1995 Dr. Rivard has focused his primary attention on performing music for consolation and peace. His ability to communicate the spiritual and emotional content of music is enhanced by his singing touch and sense of color. His thoughtful and sensitive interpretations bring the listener into each work's universe and his slower tempi allow the music to unfold and breathe seamlessly.