Robert L. Simon received a Bachelor's degree in music from New York University and a Master's degree in music composition from San Francisco State University. While working on his B.A. degree at NYU, he studied music composition privately for two years with Dante Fiorillo. He received a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from UCLA. Most of Mr. Simon's life was spent as a music educator. During his first twenty years as a teacher, he taught bands, orchestras, and choirs in elementary, junior high, and high schools in California and Europe. Later, he taught in the music department at California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, California.