Robert O'Brien joined GMChorale as General Manager in February 2020 after having worked with many Hartford area arts organizations, including the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and TheaterWorks. In September 2021, he was promoted to his current position as Managing Director. Robert brings a wealth of experience in arts management to GMChorale having previously completed a Masters Degree in International Arts Management at HEC Montreal, Southern Methodist University, and Bocconi University, an internationally focused program that led him to explore cultural organizations in the Americas and Europe.

Already with GMChorale, Robert has had a busy tenure. Just a month following his appointment, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He spearheaded GMChorale's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with the Executive Director / Artistic Director to produce the innovative Virtual Season of Choral Enrichment for the 2020-2021 season. Not only did Robert find himself creating new programming, he found himself teaching an additional passion of his, history, as the history lecturer in GMChorale's debut summer course Choral Music Through the Ages.

Robert is also an experienced performing arts producer and production manager having completed many projects in theater, music, dance, and interdisciplinary arts. One of his most unique projects was Indigo Grey, an immersive and interactive dance experience produced through a partnership with the world-renowned technology pioneer Bell Labs and New York City's New Museum. Created by innovative dance leaders, Hammerstep, and shown in 2018, it was a storytelling experience that joined dance, theater, music, and technology to make a new experience that audiences will never forget. To complement his producing, Robert has given virtual talks to various groups on Arts Management including at Universidad de los Andes located in Bogotá, Colombia.   

In addition to his work with cultural organizations, Robert is an accomplished vocal musician, holding a Bachelors of Music from McGill University where he studied under the renowned baritone, Sanford Sylvan. Although infrequent, he is still an active singer and can be heard performing bass repertoire around the state of Connecticut.