Robert Garbarz is a violinist and educator currently located in Louisville, KY. Maintaining a large studio of violinists and violists of all ages and experience levels, much of his time is dedicated to teaching, however he also remains active in performance and insists his students do the same. In his home state of North Carolina, Robert performed regularly with such ensembles as the Fayetteville Symphony, Carolina Philharmonic, Wilmington Symphony, and Gate City Camerata.With his colleagues at the Cary School of Music, he helped to initiate a concert series of faculty performances, which featured chamber music groups as well as solo recitals. His interest in Historically Informed Performance has led him to spend several summers at Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute as well as the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto, and for four years he led the University of North Carolina Baroque Ensemble as Concertmaster and frequent soloist.
In his teaching, Robert is a fervent proponent of finding each student’s unique sound, and prioritizes the ability to teach oneself and find individual solutions to technical issues. He has no method, aside from working with each student to establish a plan that will help them achieve their ambitions. Although a professional music career is not for everyone, Robert believes that each student should receive professional training and strive to reach their highest potential. His students have won awards and principal orchestra positions throughout the state of North Carolina, and many can be heard playing in university music programs such as the North Carolina School of the Arts, North Carolina State University, and Yale University.
Robert completed a Bachelors degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and then a Masters degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He pursued further Graduate studies at the University of North Texas with Julia Bushkova. His previous teachers have included Richard Luby, Fabian Lopez, and Nicholas DiEugenio.
Outside of music, Robert is an avid hockey fan, a roller coaster enthusiast, and loves to spend time exploring the state of Kentucky with his wife and son.
Robert Garbarz, Violinist 