Musical Director - Robert Chester

The Musical Director of the Knocklyon School of Music and Concert Bands is our founder Robert P. Chester.

Robert has a long and varied involvement in youth music since he was nine years of age. As a trumpet player he was winner at the Feis Ceoil at a mere eleven years of age, he was a founder member of the Westland Row Concert Band and a long standing member of the Irish Youth Orchestra. He has been a member of most of the amateur orchestras in Dublin and has performed with our National Symphony Orchestra. He completed his formal music education with Mr. James Cavanagh, Professor of Brass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music.

He taught trumpet to students of the Rathfarnham Concert Band from 1981 to 1998. During those years he went on to become their Assistant Musical Director and leader of their Jazz Orchestra. He was the conductor of ‘Route 66’ the midlands based Big Band from 2000 to 2003.

Despite Knocklyon having a large youth population and one of the largest primary schools in Europe, Robert was surprised that very little formal musical instrument education was available in the area and he set about the formation of the Knocklyon School of Music in late 1999. The School has grown to over 350 members (parents and students) under his enthusiastic leadership.

He lives in the Knocklyon area with his family.