Newport Classical brings rising star violinist Randall Goosby to Newport

It’s been a rewarding winter season at Newport Classical, as we continue to bring some of the country’s best classical musicians to Newport not only in the summer months during our Newport Classical Music Festival, but year-round through our Chamber Series. We’ve been so thrilled to hear from audience members that coming to our concerts downtown at the Newport Classical Recital Hall located at Emmanuel Church has become a monthly cozy, local night out for them. Spring is on the horizon, and we are looking forward to our next performance on March 10, featuring the incredible young violinist Randall Goosby. At 26 years old, he is already embarking on an international career.

As the Los Angeles Times put it, "Goosby plays like an angel with nothing to prove. A cool, calm, collected angel." He signed to major label Decca Classics in 2020, and released his debut album Roots in 2021, which was an instant success. He’s performed selections from the album, which is a celebration of African-American music that explores its evolution from the spiritual to present-day compositions, for an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. He’s also soloed recently with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as given solo recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, San Francisco Symphony’s Davies Symphony Hall, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Randall’s concert in Newport will blend traditional and 20th-century works by Beethoven, Grant Still, Ravel, and Lili Boulanger. In addition to performing Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 from 1804, known as “The Mt. Everest” of violin sonatas because of its technical difficulty, he will perform French composer Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2, written between 1923 to 1927 and influenced by American blues and jazz. American composer William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano from 1943 was inspired by sculptures of three artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance – Richmond Barthé’s African Dancer, Sargent Johnson’s Mother and Child, and Augusta Savage’s Gamin. A hidden gem completes the program – Deux Morceaux (Two Pieces), begun by Lili Boulanger in 1911 when she was just 17 and completed when she was 21. Randall will perform with pianist Anna Han, described by The Washington Post as, “prodigiously gifted… a display of imagination, taste and pianistic firepower far beyond her years.”

Randall is acclaimed not only for his musicianship but also his mission to make music more inclusive and accessible, and to bring the music of under-represented composers to light. He has said, “For me, personally, music has been a way to inspire others,” and I am so thrilled that while he is visiting our “city by the sea,” he will pay a visit to our students, sharing that inspiration through our Music Engagement Initiative.

Additionally, thanks to a generous grant from the Gruben Foundation, we are pleased to be able to offer free student tickets for this concert as well as all of our Chamber Series performances! Email us at info@newportclassical.org to learn more.

On March 21, we will be announcing plans for our summer 2023 Newport Classical Music Festival, which runs from July 4-23. We can't wait to share a spectacular line-up of 26 concerts slated for this year, and look forward to returning to 12 of Newport’s mansions and historical venues for these one-of-a-kind performances.

In advance of his concert on March 10, we caught up with Randall Goosby to find out what he’s looking forward to about coming to Newport:

Newport Classical: Which piece on this program are you the most excited to perform and why?”

Randall Goosby: I’m really looking forward to performing Beethoven’s “Bridgetower” Sonata, a work of epic proportions which Beethoven originally dedicated to Afro-Caribbean violinist George Bridgetower.

NC: How do you curate programs for recitals?

RG: I generally build programs around one or two larger works, filling in the rest with pieces that are musically, personally or historically connected to the larger works.

NC: Is there anything you are looking forward to doing in Newport?

RG: If the weather permits, I look forward to playing some golf! I bring my clubs everywhere I go, and love playing different courses when I have free time on the road.

NC: What is your approach to educational engagement and what is your favorite age range to engage?

RG: Educational engagement is one of my favorite things about my work, and I like to take a very casual, relaxed approach to my visits with students, whether they are musicians or not. My goal is to give students a sense of how much fun it is to lead a life and career in music, and also show them that we probably have a lot more in common than they might think. I love working with students of all ages, but I really enjoy working with elementary school students, as I was around that age when I started playing.

Randall Goosby will be presented by Newport Classical at its Recital Hall at Emmanuel Church, 42 Dearborn St. in Newport, on Friday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.newportclassical.org. Be sure to join Newport Classical’s mailing list to be the first to know about upcoming concerts and events: www.newportclassical.org/email-sign-up.

Gillian Friedman Fox is the Newport Classical executive director. This column appears monthly on newportri.com and in The Newport Daily News.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Randall Goosby to perform violin concert for Newport Classical