Richard Crosby was born in Ashland, Ohio and raised in Largo, Florida. He holds the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education (1979), the Master of Music degree in Piano and Wind Conducting (1981) and the 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.
Dr. Crosby was appointed to the faculty of Eastern Kentucky University in 1986 where he serves as Professor of Music. In 2014 he was honored by his selection to be an EKU Foundation Professor, whose members are recognized for their contributions above the level necessary for full Professor in the areas of Teaching, Service, and Scholarship/Creativity and served as Chair of the Foundation Professor Selection Committee for 6 years. His teaching duties at EKU have included private and group piano as well as Music History (1999-2019). He served 6 years on the board of the EKU Center for the Arts for during its construction and through its first two seasons. He currently serves as Chair of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Crosby also serves as Director of the Stephen Collins Foster High School Piano Camp, held every summer at EKU, and is an active adjudicator. Initiated in 1975 into the Eta-Omicron chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the fraternity for men in music, Dr. Crosby served from 1988-2019 as Governor of Province 25 and served as National President from 1994-97 and 2003-09. He has received the Orpheus Award, was made a Signature Sinfonian in 2015 and is one of only 3 living recipients of the Ossian E. Mills Award.
Dr. Crosby’s compact disc/cassette 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 disc is available on the PARMA label.
In addition to performing Dr. Crosby has ventured into the world of composition. He has received 3 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 and his Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 19. Other works include Appalachian Variations Op. 2 for symphonic band, commissioned by EKU in honor of its centennial observance, “A Walt Whitman Portrait Op. 8” for chorus and symphonic band, a Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, By The Waters of Memory Op. 9 and 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, and his Piano Sonata Op. 21 in b minor, commissioned by SAI Fraternity and published by C.F. Peters.