About Me

Robert Grahmann is a percussionist and drummer based in Phoenix, AZ with a diverse musical background and a collaboration-forward approach. A versatile and thoughtful performer, Robert is equally at home on the concert stage, in the theatre pit, and in the underground jazz club. His interest in new and improvised music has involved him in dozens of premieres for new works across the U.S. and Europe.

An accomplished soloist, Robert was the winner of the 2025 UMass Amherst Concerto Competition and performed Richard Rodney Bennett's Marimba Concerto alongside the UMASO. In 2024, he was selected as a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, giving several chamber performances during the Marathon LOUD Weekend. The same year, he traveled to the Netherlands as a participant in the Cortona Sessions for new music.

In addition to his studies in concert percussion, Robert has long been a student of the jazz tradition and the drumset. This combo has inclined him to a unique perspective, and he has prioritized utilizing these different aspects of his background to strengthen one another, informing both his performance and pedagogy.

Robert received his Bachelor's from Barrett, the Honor's College at Arizona State University where he studied percussion with Michael Compitello and Matt Prendergast, and drumset with legends Lewis Nash and Dom Moio. He completed his Master's at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a certificate in Music History Pedagogy, studying with Ayano Kataoka and Lukas Böhm.