Robert Hart Baker (March 19, 1954 – November 25, 2023) was an American symphonic and operatic conductor Baker held diplomas and degrees from the following institutions: Manhattan School of Music (preparatory division - NYC) ('69–'71), Academie Internationale d'ete (Nice, France) 1970, Mozarteum Conservatory (Salzburg, Austria) 1971, Horace Mann School (Riverdale, NY) 1971, Harvard University (A.B.
He studied conducting privately with Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, James Yannatos, Arthur Weisberg, Henry Bloch, Johannes Somary, Mahasha Rhimajababada, and Otto-Werner Mueller.
He also studied in master classes given by Lorin Maazel, Harold Farberman, Morton Gould, Maurice Abravanel, Jorge Mester, Sorghum Commissiona, and William Steinberg.
He was also involved in outreach programs through the North Carolina School of the Arts, Penn State York, and the Logos Academy.
He worked with Richard Schulman of Asheville on Schulman's Camelot,[8] and he is an acknowledged expert[citation needed] on the orchestral works of Horatio Parker (better known as teacher to Charles Ives) and on the music of Caryl Florio (aka William Robjohn), the English organist who became the in house composer at the famous Biltmore Estate.