Robert Shaw (April 30, 1916 – January 25, 1999) was a conductor of vocal music most famous for his work with his namesake chorale and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

In 1941 he founded the Collegiate Chorale, a group notable in its day for its racial integration. The group performed Beethoven's 9th symphony with the NBC symphony and Arturo Toscanini, who referred to Shaw as 'The Maestro I have been looking for.'

He went on to found the Robert Shaw Chorale in 1949, a group which produced numerous recordings and visited 30 countries in tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department. From 1967-1988 he was musical director and conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In 1970 he founded the Atlanta Symphony Chorus. After 1988 he continued to conduct the Orchestra and teach in a series of summer festivals and week-long Carnegie Hall workshops for choral conductors and singers.

Shaw received 16 Grammy awards and was a 1991 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

References

• http://atlantasymphony.org/
• http://asochorus.org/