Introducing Randall Goosby

Dynamic young violinist & champion of diversity in classical music signs with Decca Classics

New album set for release in spring 2021 celebrates African-American classical composers

Decca Classics announces the signing of 24-year-old violinist Randall Goosby. A protégé of one of the world’s legendary violinists, Itzhak Perlman, Goosby was the youngest ever winner of the junior division of the prestigious Sphinx Competition in his native United States. A First Prize Winner in the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, he is also the first ever Robey Artist with Young Classical Artists Trust in London.

 Speaking from his family home in Virginia Beach VA, Goosby says, “I’m so thrilled to be working with the Decca Classics team for the release of my debut album! It’s a record label that has been home to some of my favourite artists and musical role models, and I’m delighted to be joining such an esteemed roster. For me, music has always been a way to inspire others. It’s part of my quest as an artist to amplify black voices in classical music, bringing heightened recognition to this incredible music.”

 Dominic Fyfe, Label Director of Decca Classics, says, “Randall and I first met back in February 2019 and I have followed his development closely. It’s rare to find such a supremely eloquent player and an equally articulate advocate for the value of classical music. In his playing Randall looks back to a golden age of violin greats, as befits a student of Itzhak Perlman, and in his advocacy for music education, outreach and diversity he is a forward-looking ambassador for the future of our industry. Randall will inspire us, and we welcome him to Decca Classics.”

Goosby’s debut album, set for release in spring 2021, will journey across more than a century of African- American music for violin, tracing its roots in the spiritual through to the present day. The album will feature works by composers William Grant Still and Florence Price, plus newly commissioned music by Goosby’s friend and fellow Sphinx and YCA artist Xavier Foley.

 Born of an African-American father and Korean mother raised in Japan, Goosby can’t remember a time when he wasn’t connected to classical music. From the moment he picked up a violin at the age of seven, the immediate sense of joy he felt when playing shaped his childhood, inspiring marathon practice sessions and regular trips from his home in Memphis, Tennessee to New York City, where Itzhak Perlman had arranged a full scholarship to study with him at Juilliard.

Goosby recently featured at the UK Gramophone Awards alongside composer John Williams in a tribute to Perlman who was recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Goosby has performed frequently with Perlman, most recently in the Bach Double Concerto with the Grand Rapids Symphony.

Goosby’s concerto debut with the Jacksonville Symphony aged nine was followed, at thirteen, with the New York Philharmonic at a Young People’s Concert and with the Cleveland Orchestra where his performance was praised for “an astonishing degree of musical maturity” (Cleveland Plain Dealer). He recently made his Kennedy Center debut in Washington DC and in 2021 will make his recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Goosby complements a demanding performance schedule with volunteer commitments that allow him to use his artistic skills to inspire and serve others. He has participated in community engagement programmes across the United States, including Opportunity Music Project, which provides free lessons, instruments, and mentoring for children from low-income families in New York City, and Concerts in Motion, which provides private house concerts for elderly and homebound patrons.

In 2019, Goosby was named the inaugural Robey Artist with YCAT in partnership with Music Masters. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho at The Juilliard School, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees, as a Kovner Fellowship recipient. Randall Goosby plays a Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu of 1735, on generous loan from the Stradivari Society.