Robert Else's early piano training traces an unbroken pedagogical line of teachers back to Beethoven (Robert Else - Orvis Ross - Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler - Theodor Leschitizky - Carl Czerny - Ludwig van Beethoven). Robert received his B.A. with honors in Piano Performance from Humboldt State University, studying with Charles Fulkerson. He then moved south to Los Angeles for graduate studies at USC, studying collaborative piano with Gwendolyn Koldofsky (accompanist of Marilyn Horne), and with Brooks Smith (accompanist of Jascha Heifetz).

Robert also holds a degree in jazz piano from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. His jazz activities have included singing in a cappella vocal groups, and composing and arranging for a variety of jazz ensembles.

When he's not playing music, Robert is president of Elseware, a Santa Barbara computer software consulting firm.