Photo by John Johansen
— Katie Couric NBC’s Today Show
For over 30 years, Rob Kapilow has brought the joy and wonder of music – and unraveled some of its mysteries – to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Characterized by his unique ability to create an “aha” moment for his audiences and collaborators, whatever their level of musical sophistication or naiveté, Kapilow’s work brings music into people’s lives: opening new ears to musical experiences and helping people to listen actively rather than simply hear.
Kapilow’s remarkably broad career encompasses his acclaimed What Makes It Great?® presentations, original compositions, conducting, books, media appearances, Family Musik® events, Citypieces, educational initiatives, corporate programs, and long-term residencies. His work has taken him from major concert halls and universities to Native American tribal communities in Montana and inner-city high schools in Louisiana, and to audiences in Kyoto, Istanbul, and Kuala Lumpur. He has worked with listeners ranging from young children encountering music for the first time to professional musicians and musicologists at leading universities.
In the 2026/27 season, Kapilow returns to the Celebrity Series of Boston, Stanford Live, the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, and Music Toronto. His What Makes It Great? programs span an equally broad musical landscape, including Anything but Standard: The Music of Ella Fitzgerald & Oscar Peterson; Summer of Love: The Music of Janis Joplin & Jimi Hendrix; Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto; Schubert’s Death and the Maiden; the music of Lerner and Loewe; and new programs exploring the music of Count Basie and James Taylor.
As a composer, Kapilow has created works ranging from large-scale choral and orchestral compositions to music written especially for families. His We Came to America, based on intergenerational immigrant stories, received its world premiere in January 2024 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in collaboration with the Thurnauer School of Music and the New Jersey Symphony. He was the first composer granted the rights to set the words of Dr. Seuss to music, and his Green Eggs and Ham has become one of his most popular works. His Family Musik® compositions also include settings of Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express and Dr. Seuss’s Gertrude McFuzz. His work, inspired by Louise Bourgeois’ monumental spider sculpture Maman, was commissioned for the 25th anniversary of Ottawa Chamberfest and premiered in 2019.
Kapilow is also an award-winning author of three books. All You Have to Do Is Listen, published by Wiley/Lincoln Center, received the PROSE Award for Best Book in Music and the Performing Arts. What Makes It Great?, also published by Wiley/Lincoln Center, was among the first music books designed specifically for the iPad with embedded musical examples. His most recent book, Listening for America: Inside the Great American Songbook from Gershwin to Sondheim, published by Norton/Liveright, received wide critical acclaim and was a finalist for the Marfield Prize. He is currently researching and writing two new books for Norton/Liveright, the first devoted to the music of the Woodstock generation.
Kapilow’s work as a musical communicator has also reached national audiences through television and radio. He has appeared on NBC’s Today; presented a special What Makes It Great?® for PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center; and was the subject of the full-length PBS documentary Summer Sun, Winter Moon, which chronicled his work as a composer. His What Makes It Great? radio series was heard for more than a decade on NPR’s Performance Today.
As a conductor, Kapilow has led many of North America’s major orchestras and conducted new works of musical theater ranging from the Tony Award-winning Nine on Broadway to the premiere of Frida for the opening of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, as well as premieres for the American Repertory Theater. His early honors include first prize in the Fontainebleau Casadesus Piano Competition and second prize in the Antal Dorati Conducting Competition with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He has also received an Exxon Meet-the-Composer grant and numerous ASCAP awards.
At 19, Kapilow interrupted his studies at Yale University to study with the legendary Nadia Boulanger. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Yale, he continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music before returning to Yale, where he served for six years as an assistant professor and conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra.
Kapilow lives in Montvale, New Jersey, and is a Sensei and fourth-degree black belt in Shorin-Ryu karate.
May, 2026
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A note for the press: he prefers to be called Rob (rather than Robert) Kapilow.