Mr. Wills has had a long career in music, for the past several years in Maui Hawaii but primarily in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Bob has been a member of the Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Chorale, and the Edgewater Eight. He has been the music director for the Minneapolis JCC Orchestra, the Nativity Choir, Maternity of Mary Choir, the St. Paul Community Orchestra and the 3M Women’s Chorus. Bob has been a church music director for 42 years.
His baritone solo and conducting career has given him the opportunity to give five concert tours of Europe including conducting twice at the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican and concerts in Dublin, Rome, Assisi, Venice, Vienna, Munich, Lucerne and Jerusalem. Mr. Wills has appeared as Soloist for the opening concert of the Sixth World Choral Symposium with Minnesota Orchestra, Chanticleer and Harlem Boy’s Choir.
Bob has also appeared as a soloist with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Duluth Symphony, Austin Symphony, Rochester Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Music Fest.
For the past five years, Bob sang both the tenor and the bass soloist parts in performances of Messiah with the Maui Choral Arts. He has been the music director for The King and I, Spirit of the Iao, The Sound of Music and Annie with Maui On Stage. He also performed the role of Oliver ‘Daddy’ Warbucks in that production. Most recently, Bob played the part of El Gallo in The Fantasticks with Pro Arts of the Pacific.
Bob was the winner of the 2009 Hawaii Public Radio Art song Festival where he sang the Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of the Wayfarer)
He sings in English, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, French. Some experience in Russian, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic and even ancient Mayan!
He is the founder and director of The Maui Summer Masterworks Festival with performances in 2010 of Mozart Requiem K. 626 in 2010, in 2011 of Vivaldi concerto for two trumpets, Mozart Vesperae Solennes de Confessore K. 339 and Bach Magnificat in D major BWV 243 and in 2012 with performance of Haydn “The Creation”. Bob is founder and director of the newly formed Maui Chamber Orchestra. Bob holds his MBA with an additional concentration in marketing and a BA in psychology from the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota
