artwork: Charles R. Clevenger

Richard Crosby was born in Ashland OH and raised in Largo FL. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education (1979), a Master of Music degree in Piano and Wind Conducting (1981), and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano (1990) from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. His principal piano teachers at CCM were John Meretta and Richard Morris. 

Crosby was appointed to the faculty of Eastern Kentucky University in 1986 where he serves as Professor of Music. Initiated in 1975 into the Eta-Omicron chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the fraternity for men in music, Crosby served as National President from 1994-97 and 2003-09.

Crosby’s compact disc recording, AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT, released in 1994, features works by Charles Griffes, Amy Beach, William Grant Still, David Guion, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Lee Hoiby, and George Gershwin. This album is available from PARMA Recordings. 

In addition to performing, Crosby has ventured into the world of composition. He has received four commissions from the Kentucky Music Teachers Association to write his Sonata for Trombone and Piano Op. 1, his Sonata for Viola and Piano Op. 10, his Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 19, and his Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 27. Other works include:

Appalachian Variations Op. 2 for symphonic band, A Walt Whitman Portrait Op. 8 for chorus and symphonic band, By The Waters of Memory Op. 9 for solo piano, Variations Op. 13 for solo piano, Four Latin Dances Op.14 for Oboe and Piano, Remembrance Op. 16 for Marimba and Piano, Ricercare Op. 18 and Canzona Op. 20 for trombone ensemble, Piano Sonata Op. 21 in b minor, commissioned by SAI Fraternity and published by C.F. Peters, Lyric Duet for Two Trombones and Piano Op. 26., and Sonata for Violin and Piano in D Minor Op. 27.

He also composed the soundtrack to the documentary, The Essential Eastern, which describes the history of Eastern Kentucky University. It is available on KET.org. He is the author of The All-In-One Laboratory Piano Course, published by Kendall Hunt and Thoughts on Life and Leadership, published by KDP.

Albums

By the Waters of Memory

Release Date: February 2, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6598
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Cello
Oboe
Piano
Lyricism and melody are often vainly sought in contemporary composition. American composer Richard Crosby goes against the grain on BY THE WATERS OF MEMORY, a selection of compositions so aesthetically sublime, yet so profound, one wonders if this is still music, or someone mesmerizingly peeling back the layers on existence itself. BY THE WATERS OF MEMORY features two scintillating chamber duos with piano – one a viola, the other a cello sonata – as well as a charming tetralogy of Latin dances for piano and oboe. But perhaps the greatest revelation arrives in the form of trenchantly beautiful solo piano pieces, which bear all the hallmarks of unadulterated classical-romantic genius. If Schubert had been an American, he would have sounded like this.

Sculpting the Air

Release Date: June 1, 2011
Catalog Number: NV5852
20th Century
Chamber
Large Ensemble
Wind Ensemble
SCULPTING THE AIR is a collection of modern works featuring brass and flute instrumentations from composers Samuel Barber, James Adler, Russ Lombardi, Jan Van der Roost, Barry Seroff, Brian Gillett, Juan Sebastian Lach Lau and Richard Crosby. The works on this disc range from a rhapsodic wind quintet originally composed for winds, strings and piano to a musical representation of a familial argument to a spectral piece based on one of Satie's Gymnopédies.

Explore other albums featuring Richard Crosby

An American Portrait

An American Portrait

Ravello Records