Bob Schneeweis, originally from the Twin Cities, MN, has been an active pianist, composer/arranger, and teacher for the past two decades.  Prior to moving to Detroit in 2009, Bob worked foremost as pianist, composer/arranger, and music director for the popular Minneapolis-based Latin orchestra Salsabrosa, as well as writing for and performing with the much-lauded Atlantis Quartet (then Quintet). He also collaborated with a wide array of other groups, from hip hop and electronic music, to free improvisation and experimental music.  In the Detroit area, Bob continues to be active as a jazz pianist, composer, and teacher, as well as a composer and performer of classical/new music.

In October 2017, Bob served as a performer, composer, and lead organizer for the powerful Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah event at the Strand Theater in Pontiac, MI.  Here, he coordinated a broad array of regional and national groups across many cultures and artistic traditions – including chamber and gospel choir, classical Indian dance, folk, Native American, and jazz music, as well as original theatrical monologues threading the program together.  The process of organizing the program was fundamentally collaborative, seeking to engage the wider community in many aspects of the planning process, and involved the commission of 7 new works of music and dance (including one by Schneeweis), as well as a series of original theatrical interludes, all based on principles related to the oneness of humankind.

From 2017-2018, Bob contributed to the Soul Food series of concerts aimed at celebrating the true purpose of music as a means to empower and unite people.  At these concerts – as well as at the Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah – he performed original compositions and arrangements of his with a powerful all-star group including such great local players as Gayelynn McKinney, Marion Hayden, Pat Prouty, Miles Brown, Mark Stone, and Matt Dufresene.  From this series was also born The Universal, which continues to perform in the Detroit Metro area.

In 2017, Bob was a winner of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G.  He holds a Masters Degree from Oakland University in piano performance, and maintains his own private piano studio, teaching both jazz and classical piano performance, as well as composition, improvisation, and theory.