Raised in Alaska, Robbie Cowan ’27 has toured the world as a professional musician and seen his own plays brought to life on stage. He was inspired to go to law school after needing legal counsel and having to advocate for himself. Now, he hopes to help other artists as an attorney once he completes his education at Fordham Law.
What is your hometown and where did you go to school as an undergraduate?
I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. I went to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and later, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
What led you to apply to law school?
I’ve spent more than a decade as a professional musician in New York City and touring around the country, working primarily in musical theater. I’ve conducted performances in 49 states (Hawaii remains elusive), I’ve traveled the world, I’ve won awards in at least four different states, and I’ve graced the stages—or more specifically, orchestra pits—of venues from Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center.
I also began producing my own work, including having plays that I wrote produced in festivals, workshops, and eventually, around the world on luxury cruise lines. These experiences had me interact with several legal professionals, whom I was surprised to learn are not evil bureaucratic suits stymying creativity but rather passionate and conscientious professionals often making the connections necessary to get projects off the ground. I also frequently encountered moments where the projects I was working on weren’t lucrative enough to engage proper legal counsel and I was forced to become my own advocate, so in this way I might say that my interest in the law found me.
What made you choose Fordham Law?
New York City has become home, not to mention the epicenter of the arts and culture that have dominated my life. I hoped that Fordham’s Jesuit identity might infuse my education with a constant sense of service.
What do you hope to do with your law degree in the future?
I’ve often told my music and theater colleagues that I’m not making a career pivot, but rather expanding what I understand my career to be. As a music director, I’ve always had the responsibility of birthing writers’ work into the world, creating their music in time and space by interpreting it and shepherding it into the theater or concert hall. As a lawyer I hope to do exactly the same thing: help artists get their important and life-changing work into the world.
What is something interesting about you that people may not know?
My partner sometimes says he should get some sort of prize for marrying a singing Alaskan accordionist. Apparently my specific combination of background and interests is pretty rare.
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