Robert Watson
Composer, Musician, Producer, Vocal Coach
I'm a classically trained musician, composer, singer and vocal coach focusing on orchestral, electronic and experimental music.
As an experienced, well travelled musician, I create music for your projects in meaningful and productive ways.
Film Scores
Film Scores
Music Cues
Vocal Coach
I’m an experienced vocal performer with decades of stage, studio and concert performance as a soloist and within ensembles. I was trained using the Estill technique and I use this along with my experience as a performer to help singers and voice actors develop their vocal talent across many styles and scenarios. I’m as happy helping DJs add singing into their set, as I am supporting aspiring opera singers and voice over artists.
Singing
Rob started his singing career at Holy Trinity, Coventry before singing Tenor at Coventry Cathedral under Paul Wright. Rob attained his Music degree at Durham University followed by an MA (Composition) in electro-acoustic music studying with John Casken and Peter Manning. During this time his piece “Has it finished yet?” for 4 voices, which explores the transition between vocal noise and pitch, was premiered by Electric Phoenix as part of the Arts Council Contemporary Music festival. Premieres of other pieces were performed by Durham Chamber Choir, and the London Cantata Choir (with performances at Westminster Abbey). He conducted the Durham University Light Opera Group, several Choral Concerts with orchestra and was also Organ Scholar at St Chad’s College.
Rob sang with Schola Cantorum led by Jerome Roche which focussed on 17th Century choral music. He also engaged in reconstructions of the Sarum Rite and weekday vespers in the Norman Chapel in Castle College undercroft.
Rob’s singing career as a Tenor has spanned Choral and Opera. Over the decades he has sung with many professional London church choirs and has performed extensively and recorded often with Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. With the latter, who commissioned the Mass by Peter Maxwell Davies, he sang in the first performances.
His operatic experience spans the main Classical and Romantic repertoire encompassing roles such as Tamino, Don Ottavio, Nadir, Rodolfo, Calaf, Hoffmann and Don Jose. He studied with Paul Farrington & Alberto Remedios with whom he learned the role of Erik (Der fliegende Holländer) amongst others. His Oratorio and recital solo work has seen him appear in the UK, Norway, Denmark, Germany and USA.
Rob embraces all forms of music and his recent compositions have focussed on Documentary, Travel and Social change. Rob has a penchant for the contemporary. Recently he sang Elizabeth Lutyens “..and suddenly it’s evening” in and the role of Lightbourne in Geoffery Burgon’s “The Fall of Lucifer”.
CV
A composer, performer and vocal coach, Rob has written music in a variety of styles from a very early age. He attained his Music BA (Hons) at Durham University, UK followed by an MA (Composition) with a focus on electro acoustic music studying with John Casken.
Rob is widely travelled with a fondness for Wildlife and a keen interest in social change and the difficulties and joy humanity and nature has to embrace. This allows him to comfortably work within genres such as Factual, Drama, Horror, Psychological Thriller and Sci-Fi. Rob’s unique voice as a composer allows him to support story-telling in subtle, dramatic and quirky ways. He often calls on his experience of live/avant-garde improvisation to adapt to sudden and unexpected changes in any brief or schedule.
Rob is equally comfortable scoring to draft script, storyboard etc during pre-production as he is to locked picture. His experience spans many roles and makes him a key member of any production team. His adept use of leitmotifs and themes enables impactful story-telling.
Recent and current scoring commissions include:
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currently scoring a pilot to secure funding for a supernatural noir thriller TV series (more to come later...)
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July, 2025, scored Dearly Departed (feature, dir.Darren Vukasinovic ) - post-prod awaiting distribution – “Three siblings with interpersonal rivalries gather at a remote cottage to finalize their deceased mother's will, opening old wounds that compel them to confront grudges they have long held for one another.”
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June, 2025, scored My Dark Secret (dir. James L Perkins) – “Jackson and his younger sister Lily hold a dark secret - Lily is actually a vampire. Jackson must make the ultimate decision.”
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June, 2025, Scored The Mirror (Dir. Sabrina Rivetti) “A woman wakes up one morning to find an impostor in her mirror. As she struggles to recognise her own reflection, she looses her sense of self and has to adjust to a new reality.”
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May, 2025, scored Thresholds (dir. Sam C Dixon)
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May 2024, scored ‘Cut Out’ (dir. Adolfo Vico) - a story where belief is key..or else!
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Feb 2024, score for multi-award winning “The Gory Hole” (Ash Mountain Films, Dir. Richard Rowntree), one of the contributions to the Video Shop Tales of Terror 2 anthology.
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Sep 2021 film and music for Quapaw Canoe Company, Mississippi. The piece focuses on the environmental joy and struggles of the Mississippi River, as seen from a canoe..
During his over 40 years experience writing music, he has had pieces premiered by:
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Durham Chamber Choir
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Electric Phoenix ( Arts Council Contemporary Music festival)
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London Cantata Choir (with performances at Westminster Abbey).
He is an experienced vocal performer with decades of stage, studio and concert performance as a soloist and ensemble singer.
Whilst residing and writing mainly in London, Rob is regularly in the USA due to his American family. He coaches in either London or Liss (Hants)
