bobrocco.com  

        Bob Rocco earned his Master of Arts degree in musical composition from NYU, studying there with John Gilbert, Paul Ramsier and Laurie Spiegel. He also holds both a B.A. in Music Education and a B.S. in Computer Science from Kean University.

         He began his academic career as an Instructor of Music at NYU in 1983 and retired from the classroom after celebrating his 34th anniversary as a Professor at the Kean University Conservatory of Music.  His textbook Building Musicianship: an Experiential and Holistic Approach was published in 2011.



         Bob had a full-time career of over 20 years at Bell Labs as a computer specialist, retiring in 2001.  He’s regarded as one of the pioneers of music technology for his work at NYU and at Bell Labs with Max Mathews during the 1980s. 

         From 2006 to 2019, Bob conducted pioneering research with music for deaf children and adults with disablilties using the Max Mathews radio baton.  He has presented at the State, National, and International levels.

        Bob is an established composer with his compositions performed in such top venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and at events like the International Computer Music Conference.

Professor Rocco retired from the classroom after the Fall 2019 semester and would like to thank all of his friends at NYU and Kean University for a wonderful 4-decade career. 

Bob is a concert artist and performs original compositions as well as renditions of art music from the various classical periods using the Max Mathews Radio Baton.  He is also a proud member of the CAU Rock Band where he plays lead guitar. 

Bob's textbook was co-authored by Dr. Lily Chen-Hafteck (UCLA).

Building Musicianship: an Experiential and Holistic Approach, was published in 2011.