By Paige Auxier —
On Thursday evening, pianist Robin Spielberg gave a soothing live performance at Parrish Auditorium on Miami University’s Hamilton campus. The event was sponsored by the Miami Focus Program, a university-wide initiative to conduct year-long interdisciplinary explorations of annually chosen topics through coordinated activities and learning opportunities.
The program’s theme for this year is wellness, and Spielberg assisted in fulfilling its goals by sharing her knowledge on the intersections of music and well-being with Miami students and local community members, and by hosting this performance alongside on-campus workshops earlier in the week.
After being introduced by Patti Liberator, the director of the Performing Arts Series at Miami University, Spielberg crossed the stage in a flowing blue gown, sparkling under the glow of the overhead lights. Upon taking the stage, she perched herself on the piano bench and turned to greet the audience with a warm welcome, during which she encouraged everyone to allow their brains an hour’s rest by daydreaming alongside her as she played.
All of the songs she performed, apart from the final few, were original compositions, each accompanied by a visual of some sort, shown for the purpose of accentuating her audience’s listening experience. She also made a point of prefacing each song with a description of what inspired her to create it, doing so in such a detailed manner that it seemed as though she was reciting a page from a storybook.
In a one-on-one interview following her performance, upon being asked as to what drives her to give such detailed explanations of her song’s meanings, she shared that after her tenth year of performing—she’s into her thirtieth year now—she realized that being herself on stage was more fun than performing as someone else. So, by sharing personal stories, she feels as though she’s offering her audience a glimpse of her true self and allowing them to forge a greater connection to her work by providing greater context to its meaning.
Spielberg earned her college degree in theater and spent the first twenty years of her professional career as an actress in New York, achieving moderate success by participating in forty off-Broadway plays, and writing an off-Broadway musical. Still, despite now being removed from the professional acting world, she continues to put her theater skills to use when performing, and attributes her natural stage presence, resiliency, and confidence in taking risks to her extensive acting history. She also believes that it’s these skills that permit her to easily address and connect with her audience, which is a big part of what makes performing her most favorite act.
Today, outside of performing for live audiences, she runs and owns three small businesses: a record label, a publishing company, and a talent agency with her husband. She also works as an adjunct professor in music at Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, teaches master classes, and engages in various other creative endeavors.
She’s also released twenty-four albums all together, of several different musical forms and genres, throughout the past thirty-one years. When she was asked whether she would consider herself a prolific writer, she stated that she could easily write every day, but doesn’t, given how busy she is with other projects and activities. However, she typically composes in the winter and records in the spring or fall, which sets her up to release an album every twelve to eighteen months on average.
Her most recent album was released this past May and is titled “All the Best Returns.” It includes thirteen piano solos and is available on all standard streaming platforms, as well as for purchase on CD or as sheet music on her website. For anyone hoping for a brief respite from stress, or just the busyness of their lives, this music is a perfect way to lose yourself in her brilliant musical compositions.