Robert Saxton was born in London in 1953. He won the Gaudeamus International Composers Prize in Holland at the age of 21. In 1986 he was Fulbright Arts Fellow at Princeton, USA.

His music is published by Chester/Wise Music, University of York Music Press and Ricordi (Berlin). Recordings are on the Sony Classical, Hyperion, EMI, NMC, Divine Art/Metier and Signum labels.

Recent works include the opera The Wandering Jew, commissioned by the BBC; Time and the Seasons, a song cycle for baritone Roderick Williams; Hortus Musicae, for Clare Hammond; The Resurrection of the Soldiers, commissioned jointly by George Vass for the 2016 Presteigne Festival and the English Symphony Orchestra/Kenneth Woods; Shakespeare Scenes, commissioned by the Orchestra of the Swan and trumpeter Simon Desbruslais; A Hymn to the Thames for oboist James Turnbull and the St Paul’s Sinfonia; and Fantasy Pieces for the Fidelio Trio. Jonathan Clinch has commissioned a major organ cycle as part of a research project with the Academy; the English Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Woods will premiere and record (Nimbus) Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh in March 2023.

Robert is married to the soprano Teresa Cahill.