Robert Shaw, born Robert Lawson Shaw on April 30, 1916, in Red Bluff, California, was an American choral conductor. He founded the racially integrated Collegiate Chorale in 1941 and established the Robert Shaw Chorale in 1948, which produced numerous recordings on RCA Victor and toured extensively. Shaw's career milestones included collaborations with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony, notably performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. He served as music director for the San Diego Symphony from 1953 to 1957 and later developed the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus during his tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra. From 1967 to 1988, Shaw led the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and its chorus, conducting notable events such as the Third International University Choral Festival in 1972 at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Shaw passed away on January 25, 1999, in New Haven, Connecticut.
