Rave review for Randall Goosby with the New World Symphony

Randall Goosby playing with the New World Symphony for just the second time in more than a decade (Photo credit: Gregory Reed)

Violinist Randall Goosby strives to shake things up
By Jazmine Santillana
The Miami Times
February 24, 2023

Young violinist Randall Goosby returned to perform with the New World Symphony last weekend after over a decade of performing with the orchestra to change the perception of classical music.

Goosby’s program at the New World Center, “Absolute Jest,” was a two-part concert that included music by orchestral composers Gabriela Ortiz, John Adams, Maurice Ravel and Tchaikovsky. His Friday night performance earned him four standing ovations.

Goosby previously performed with New World Symphony in 2011 after winning the Sphinx Concerto Competition – open only to Black and Latino musicians – becoming its youngest winner. The Sphinx Organization, since its founding in 1996, aims to promote and celebrate diversity in the arts and offers winners the chance to travel and perform with one of its orchestral partners. Goosby used that opportunity to perform in an educational concert with NWS.

“I think if you put a great musician, especially one of color, in front of a group of young kids, form an opportunity of color,” said Goosby. “They see themselves up there and something they could see themselves doing. It’s inspiring that I had the chance to be part of that.”

Young musicians continue working with Sphinx in schools and communities to teach young people more about classical music.

“I’m very lucky to be involved so many years with this organization to offer (something to) communities lacking resources – to expose students and young people to classical music,” said Goosby. “It felt fulfilling with Sphinx letting people experience a symphony who felt like they didn’t belong or shouldn’t be there, and to see how the music touches them after listening.”

Goosby was signed to the Decca Classic record label in 2020 at 24 and released his debut album, Roots, in 2021 to highlight African American composers and artists. The album is one of many milestones he’s reached throughout his career. It wasn’t the future he or his mother initially saw for him, but that changed after he spent a few years practicing his instrument.

“When I started we didn’t know it could be a career. That’s how little we knew about it, but we learned quickly about what it is to be a violinist,” said Goosby. “She brought me the best recordings of the best violinists throughout history, (and) documentaries and DVDs. Every time we got in the car, we would listen to a violin concerto. Not only to know about violinists, but also to hear beautiful music that we enjoyed.”

The young musician’s mother introduced music into his life after growing up in Japan, where she saw that every child had the opportunity to enjoy an education in music. She wanted the same for her son; he chose the violin.
“She took it upon herself to make sure I was fulfilling my potential to the best of my ability,” said Goosby. “My mom and dad believed in me and recognized that I had some talent from an early age.”

His family traveled to one of the best violin teachers in Daytona Beach at Stetson University, who studied under legendary violinist David Ostra, to nurture his talent. By age 9, Goosby had performed his first solo with the Jackson Symphony. He and his family, who were living in Memphis, Tenn., at the time, committed to commuting to New York City a couple of years later for lessons with Philippe Quint, an American violinist with multiple Grammy Award nominations.

Flourishing, Goosby went on to perform with the New York Philharmonic for its Young People’s Concerts series at Avery Fisher Hall at age 13. He applied to Itzhak Perlman’s music program when he was 14 and spent five summers honing his craft to become the violinist he is today.

“That was the first time in my life I’d been surrounded by other young people who were as talented, dedicated and passionate about violin music as I was,” he said.

Through the generosity of a sponsor, Goosby and his mother flew every weekend from Memphis to New York after Perlman’s music program to participate in the Juilliard Pre-College program to study directly with the renowned violinist. He later moved to New York City to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Juilliard.

Despite growing up with few classical musicians of color to look up to on the professional stage, Goosby’s classical training fostered a deep love for the genre. He says that while seeing more than two or three musicians of color in any given orchestra is rare, classical music is more than Mozart, Bach and Beethoven.

“Within classical music there’s been a big movement since Black Lives Matter – and all these social justice initiatives were becoming mainstream – to take responsibility to share classical music not just by old, dead white guys,” said Goosby. “Black composers, Asian composers, composers of all walks of life, because classical music is something everyone experiences.”

Goosby acknowledges that classical music’s restrictive history affected the public’s perception of what it entails and made it a genre only for the elite rather than everyday people. The 26-year-old violinist hopes to share the opportunity to experience a symphony in person with others.

“Unfortunately, traditions of the art form and traditions of the culture of classical music have made it exclusive, so myself and other artists of my generation are shifting their sights toward opening the doors of classical music (to everyone),” said Goosby. “And hopefully to open the eyes of a lot more people to the fact that classical music is something by and for everyone. It just hasn’t appeared that way until this point.”

While it is too soon for the young American violinist to make plans for a legacy, he hopes to leave behind a different perspective on how people view classical music.

“I want to shake up the culture and perception of classical music. I’d like to be at a point in 20-plus years where I’m looking out at the audience and it’s not all white and gray hair,” said Goosby. “I’d like to look out and see young kids, families, different skin tones and everyone there for the same reason – to enjoy some beautiful music.”

Read the full article here.