Robert Franenberg was born in 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He began playing the double bass at the age of 10. In 1981, he obtained his Bachelor of Music (cum laude) from California State University, Northridge. In 1982, he continued his studies with Anthony Woodrow at the Sweelinck Conservatoire in Amsterdam.
Since 1984, Robert has been a part-time member of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1987 and 1988, he joined the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and the Netherlands Bach Society respectively. Robert has toured with ensembles such as the Gabrieli Consort, the Dunedin Consort, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and the Bach Collegium Japan. He has given lectures and recitals on the 5-string Viennese double bass at the Bass2014 double bass convention in Almere, Bass2018 in Lucca, Italy, the 2023 International Society of Bassists Convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and at the conservatoires in Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam. In April 2015, he performed the Vanhal Double Bass Concerto with the Apollo Ensemble, which was broadcast on Brava TV.
In 2023, Robert obtained a Master of Music degree from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.
