Born with an innate talent for music, Randi Stroh, MM, started studying and playing piano at the age of 5 and began her advanced music education in high school at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where she graduated with “Honor and Distinction in Music.” After completing a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, at Smith College in Massachusetts in 1971, she subsequently enrolled at the College of Music at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she earned a Bachelor of Music, with honors, in 1975 and a Master of Music in 1982.
Ms. Stroh brings a creative approach to everything she does and attributes her success to many excellent teachers, as well as her own perseverance and ability to create and sustain her own path. She continuously seeks new knowledge and insights, which then inform the professional decisions she makes. She is also inspired by the examples of her maternal grandmother, Annabel Seldomridge, and her maternal great-grandmother, Irene Seldomridge, both of whom were performing musicians and teachers.
Ms. Stroh has particular expertise in classical music and has excelled variously as a performing pianist, arts educator, arts administrator, music critic, and arts advocate. She was on the founding board of directors of the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, now thriving, and has served on the board of the Crested Butte Center for the Arts in central Colorado for over 10 years, including through the construction of a new building, which is now considered the premier facility in that part of the state. She was on the board of the Colorado State Music Teachers Association for many years. A classical pianist in the Western tradition, she also plays the clavichord and the virginal, and has performed both solo and chamber music recitals. Presently, she is an independent artist and the owner of The Circle of Time, LLC, her private studio, with primary focus on arts performance and education.
As a classical pianist, Ms. Stroh is always guided by the belief that composers leave not just notes on a page, but also a message for both performers and audiences. The notes are fixed, but the meaning is for us to discover and decide, and we have choices in that regard. Her goal as a performer is to skillfully offer her deepest and most well informed interpretation of the piece, and then learn from audience reactions. She believes the highest art is created in that shared experience between artist and audience. To that end, she has carefully cultivated the delicate balance of caring passionately about how an audience receives the work, while simultaneously staying true to her own standards and personal evaluation.
Ms. Stroh wishes to leave a legacy of honesty, integrity, and constant receptivity to new directions and possibilities, and she intends to be active for many years to come. In light of all her accomplishments and her many years of excellence, Ms. Stroh was honored by Cambridge Who’s Who in 2008.
