"Music is fun...tastic!"

Born in Turin, Italy, Mauro Goia began playing the piano at the age of 4. His great passion for the music took him to approach with different instruments, from church organ to guitar, from keyboard and piano to drum. He studied at the Conservatorium of Music in Turin getting a degree in Choral Music and Choir Conductor. He worked in many studios composing and arranging movie soundtracks. At present he’s working as Product Manager and International Demonstrator for Roland Corporation. As an entertainer, Mauro has developed his own special breed of humor, which has made crowds of people return to see him time and again. As Roland guest and Concert Musician, Mauro has performed in The U.S.A., Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Holland, Japan, Tunisia, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Australia and Brazil. With his wife Mega Sihombing, an Indonesian singer and traditional dancer, he has formed MegaMauro. Recently a keyboard clinic cum demonstration by Mauro Goia was organised by Roland here in Kolkata. Mauro showed the power of Expandable arranger E-A7 and Expandable synthesizer XPS-30.

A keyboard clinic cum demonstration
by Mauro Goia was organised by Roland in Kolkata

Did you come from a musical family?

Yes, all people in my family are so fond of music. My father and my mother met each other in a spiritual choir, my father could also play mandolin and harmonica, he also composed many songs. My brother is a good guitar player and my sister sings as well. I have to say that many times it was my father to help me in keeping on and following my music studies, I owe my passion for music to him.

At the age of 4 I remember I was sick in the bed, I could not wake up for 15 days... so my parents, to cheer me up, gave me a small electronic organ and I started playing on it... soon I understood my biggest dream was to become an artist... since that time I did all my efforts to make my dream come true... today, finally, I feel I'm an artist in my heart, in my life, in my job...

What kind of music were you exposed to around the house at an early age?

Actually,  in my childhood there was always music in my home, mainly classical music, my parents loved it so much (I mean Mozart, Beethoven...), but also world music. I remember a particular Hawaiian record (my father's favorite one), many times friends visited our family and my father usually let them listen to that music in the night... I was already in the bed,  but I could hear from my bedroom to the beautiful music, a perfect mix of sweet melody with exotic rhythms. Ah... so inspiring...

What drew you to The keyboard?

A keyboard clinic cum demonstration
by Mauro Goia was organised by Roland in Kolkata

Actually, I am a pianist, I studied piano since I was 5, keyboard came later. I have to thank a friend (actually the father of one of my piano students) who introduced me to Roland more than 10 years ago after seeing my performance on piano. At that time Roland gave me the opportunity to perform during an international dealer meeting and borrowed me three keyboards,  asking me to choose one to be introduced and played during the meeting. I only had 2 days to prepare it, but I was so excited, so I work 2 full days and got ready with the three keyboards, not only one! After my performance they were so impressed to offer me to become one of their international artists. So I started exploring the world of keyboards, actually you can be more creative compared to playing just piano... but I have to thank my classical piano studies, from piano to keyboard the step up  was so easy!

How did MegaMauro come about?

I met Mega (my wife) 10 years ago in Surabaya (Indonesia) during a music tour. I was looking for a local singer to perform with. We started sharing dreams and thoughts about music, life, love... we fell in love and got married 4 years ago. We decided to put together our experiences and passions for music (actually she is a very good singer, well known in Indonesia), our motto is "Music is fun...tastic!" It means first music has to make people happy, everybody loves music so the first approach has to be the happiness to play and to listen to the music. Then, of course, music touches our souls, our deepest part of our hearts, so it becomes fantastic, wonderful, because it is able to speak to the heart of people, it is able to communicate feelings and passions.

What has been the most defining moment for MegaMauro so far?

Well, more than one year ago we attended a national TV show in Indonesia (Rising Star), we were able to arrive in the final steps, so we were exposed more than two months in one of the biggest national TV in Indonesia. We are so happy to realize, even today, people recognize us, they loved our performances, we were trying to communicate our passion and they got it.

Now we are performing regularly in many different live shows, we love so much meeting our fans, it always gives  us a new power to reach our biggest dream: help people with music, make them happy, let them experience the most beautiful art!

What makes a great live show?

Well, any show has to be prepared with details. Being artists means working on that every single day. We are never arrived, every day we have to keep moving and improving... For me it means every day practice for my fingers (I mean technique exercises) and also to listen to the new songs coming out of the best singers, to get new ideas, new sonorities...

Then I think a show must be original and dynamic, nowadays people are used to have many inputs every second, so the show has to be various and full of entertainment. At the end of the performance the audience should think 'WOW!". These are the things I keep in mind when preparing a new show.

A venue that  you dream of performing at?

Well, everybody can dream about the biggest theaters in the world (Metropolitan, Olympia...) but I also like the idea to perform in the nature, I mean in the open air with The natural landscape background.

How important is music education in schools and beyond?

Of course music is not only a school subject, it is an art that can really improve our capabilities and, first of all, offer us incredible experiences. Music is a language, actually the most spoken languages in the world, everybody can understand it, so we need to be able to "speak music", as another way to be yourself. Recently I prepared and offered many music seminars and workshops to music teachers, students and parents, describing how the music speaks to us everyday with the unique language of music.

You’ve worked as marketing director with several international audio companies. What do you think are the main ingredients that are important to build one’s career as a musician and getting one’s name out there?

Well, I have some words I like to put as my guideline:

• PASSION: first of all we have to love what we do, we have to use all our energy (from body, soul and heart) when we perform, only in this way we are able to communicate completely our feelings, our passions.
• PROFESSIONALITY: music has to be studied, of course I thank God for the great talent He gave me, but also the daily exercises, the constant studies are a crucial part to become and mainly to keep on being an artist. Actually, I studied 10 years in Milan and Turin Conservatory of Music to get a degree in Piano, Harmony and Conducting.
• CREATIVITY: I try always to be original, different, sometimes daring to do things that can be considered funny or at least strange, but this is the power of music, it allows us to be completely yourself!

Do you have any advice for aspiring keyboard players in regards to how to improve their playing skills?

Well, first of all consider the keyboard as your partner to express yourself, the keyboard is the bridge allowing you to communicate with the world.

Second, respect it, I mean you should study all the keyboard features and functions to be able to use them completely.

Third, try to create something new with your keyboard, maybe new sounds, new music styles... the more you personalize your performances the more people see you as an artist.