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Robin Meloy Goldsby – Biography 960 words
Robin Meloy Goldsby
"Robin Meloy Goldsby's solo piano music speaks in a voice that is gentle
and clear. Her compositions weave threads and colors that are both delicate
and confident; a rich tapestry sewn by a pianist with an exquisite touch".
Robin Spielberg, producer and pianist
“Goldsby has seen it all from her piano and she dishes it up with a true
storyteller’s gusto. As refreshing as a frozen daiquiri . . .”
Jeff Yanc, Book Sense Picks and Notables
Pianist, composer, and author Robin Meloy Goldsby performs beautiful
piano music. Fans describe her melodies as peaceful, inspirational, and
magical. Ms. Goldsby writes and plays music that enhances the quiet and
reflective moments of life; taking the listener on a charming musical voyage
into a sea of quiet emotion and gentle strength.
Robin grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Chatham College
before moving to New York City in 1980. She performed for over ten years
in many of New York City's leading hotels. Her credits include The Grand
Hyatt, The Plaza, The Pierre, The Waldorf Astoria , and The Sheraton Centre.
Robin is known for her solo piano performances at New York's Marriott
Marquis Hotel where she played the 1985 grand opening and spent the next
seven years cultivating her skills and captivating diverse audiences with her
unique style. Ms. Goldsby also served as the musical director of the critically
acclaimed international tour of "Sesame Street Live with Luis and Gordon."
In 1994, Goldsby released her solo recording debut of standards and popular
classics, Somewhere In Time. Goldsby's arrangements were recorded at Nola
Recording Studios in Manhattan and produced by pianist and composer
Robin Spielberg.
Shortly after the release of Somewhere in Time, Goldsby moved to Cologne,
Germany, with her husband, world-class jazz bassist John Goldsby. Over the
course of several years (in between studying German and raising their two
small children), Goldsby composed some of her finest work to date: fifteen
original compositions for solo piano. When it came time to record the work,
Goldsby called once again on Robin Spielberg. Twilight was recorded in
Cologne, Germany at Topaz Studios.
Twilight contains songs inspired by Robin Goldsby's journey to Europe
(“One Woman's Journey”), the birth of her daughter (“The Light In Julia's
Eyes”), romance (When Stars Dance”), and loneliness (“Miss You Most of
All”) The three-movement piano suite, “Nantucket Solitude” is dedicated to
the memory of Fred Rogers—known to most Americans as Mister Rogers—
a family friend and the employer of Robin’s father, Bob Rawsthorne, a
musician who played drums and percussion on the Mister Rogers
Neighborhood show for 35 years. The Twilight CD package includes a
sixteen page two-language booklet (English-German) with Goldsby's poetic
musings and stories about her compositions.
Robin Goldsby also writes lyrics and composes music for other performers.
She wrote both the music and lyrics for six of the tracks on Fairgrounds, a
recording released by American singer Jane Franklin in autumn, 1999. Robin
writes with European jazz phenomenon singer/guitarist Peter Fessler, a
collaboration that has thus far produced two beautiful CDs (Blue Summer and
Landscape Tapestry), released by Skip Records in Germany. Currently,
Robin continues her work with Peter Fessler, in addition to penning lyrics for
Brazilian jazz star, Joyce, German R&B sensation Jeff Cascaro (Soul of a
Singer). Robin is currently collaborating on a project with American
singer/lyricist Cindy Newman, a South Carolina performer with a heart of
gold and a voice to match.
Hobo and the Forest Fairies is Goldsby’s holiday musical for children.
Written originally for the stage, it was adapted for broadcast as a radio play,
translated into German by Katja Bröcher, and produced by the WDR
(Europe’s largest public television and radio production house) for broadcast
on Christmas day, 2003. The musical–the story of a giant rabbit rescued by a
rag-tag family of forest fairies, one of whom is wheelchair bound– is a
comical and touching tribute to the power of a child’s imagination.
Piano Girl (Backbeat Books) Goldsby’s first book, made its hardcover debut
in spring, 2005. The book includes a collection of autobiographical short
stories–some funny, some poignant–that explore the life of a working
musician. A giddy mixture of droll hilarity and pathos, Piano Girl is an
entertaining and enlightening memoir of music and life as a cocktail pianist.
The book provides a rare glimpse into the comedies, tragedies, and mundane
miracles witnessed from the player’s side of the grand piano.
Piano Girl received a prestigious “starred review” from Publishers Weekly
and was honored as one of the picks of the summer by Book Sense, the
leading organization representing independent bookstores in the United
States. Goldsby’s many radio appearances include NPR’s All Things
Considered, the Leonard Lopate Show in New York City, The Mark Farrell
Show on CD 101.9, and most recently a taping of Marian McPartland’s
NPR Piano Jazz, scheduled to air in October 2006. Piano Girl is now
available—world-wide—in paperback.
Robin also performs live, in a variety of settings. Her scheduled
performances this year include a reading and concert in the rotunda at
Steinway Hall in Manhattan, a performance at the Salt Lake City
International Jazz Festival, a reading for the American Women’s Club at the
Bechstein Concert Hall in Cologne Germany, and an Advent Concert in
Candlelight at Schlosshotel Lerbach, a beautiful castle resting in the hills of
Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, where she appears regularly.
Robin is proud to be the volunteer choir director of the Paul Klee
Gymnasium International Choir, a group of fifth, sixth, and seventh graders
who meet once a week to sing songs in English–with tremendous enthusiasm
and varying degrees of charming German accents. Goldsby lives with her
husband John and two children outside of Cologne, Germany.
