Performing and Teaching Experience
Jazz pianist, Robert Sykes, has been teaching and performing professionally for the past forty years in the Washington, DC area. He maintains an active performance schedule as a free-lance pianist, and has performed at various venues, including Blues Alley, Kennedy Center, Strathmore Arts Center, The Phillips Collection, The Hirshorn Museum, The Hillwood Museum, The Kreeger Museum, The Barns of Wolftrap, the Swiss Embassy, and The Washington Winter Show.
Robert has been a faculty member of the Jazz department at Levine Music in Washington, DC since 1994. He is the former Chair of Jazz, during which he coordinated master classes with Kenny Werner, Stanley Cowell, and Sheila Jordan. He also managed the Levine Entertains service for many years, highlighting Levine’s exceptional faculty in the community. Performing in Levine Music’s Spracker Master Class Series, Robert has had the pleasure of accompanying legendary vocalists Sheila Jordan and Nnenna Freelon. He is also a founding member of the Levine Faculty Jazz Trio.
Robert joined the adjunct music faculty at Shepherd University School of Music, Shepherdstown, WV in 2021. He teaches jazz piano applied lessons and Class Jazz Piano, as well as performances with the jazz faculty. In 2018, he was also on the Jazz Camp faculty for middle and high schoolers. Robert can be heard on his own recording, Four + Four, featuring the Robert Sykes Quintet. This album includes four jazz standards and four original compositions. He also recorded a Christmas album in 2021 with the Antietam Jazz Collective, featuring Scott Silbert, Anita Thomas, and Gary Montanaro. He currently performs at Happy Retreat in Charles Town, WV.