John Roby is a Canadian film and theatre composer and pianist.[1]
A native of Windsor, Nova Scotia, he began writing music for theatre projects in Halifax in the 1970s, and served as the pianist on Noel Harrison's television variety show Take Time with Noel Harrison, before moving to Toronto, Ontario, in 1976.[2] He composed music for several of George F. Walker's plays, including Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline,[3] Filthy Rich,[4] Rumors of Our Death,[5] Theatre of the Film Noir,[6] Science and Madness,[2] and The Art of War.[7]
In 1984 he composed music for Jim Betts's The Mystery of the Oak Island Treasure.[2]
In the latter half of the 1980s he became known for several musicals he cowrote with Raymond Storey, including Country Chorale,[8] Girls in the Gang,[9] and The Dreamland.[10] In 1990 he collaborated with Tim Wynne-Jones on Mischief City, a musical for kids based on Wynne-Jones's 1986 book.[11]
In 1993 he premiered The Old Man's Band, his first show written entirely on his own rather than with a collaborator.[12]
He has also had credits as a composer of film scores, most notably on Thom Fitzgerald's films The Hanging Garden[13] and Beefcake.[14]
He married actress Patricia Vanstone in 1981.[15]
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genie Awards | 2000 | Best Original Score | Beefcake with John Wesley Chisholm, Michael Diabo | [16] | |
| Dora Mavor Moore Awards | 1981 | Outstanding New Score | Theatre of the Film Noir | [17] | |
| 1984 | Outstanding New Play | Mystery of the Oak Island Treasure with Jim Betts | [18] | ||
| 1988 | Outstanding New Revue or Musical | Girls in the Gang with Raymond Storey | [19] | ||
| 1995 | Outstanding Sound Design, Mid-Size Theatre | The Old Man's Band | [20] | ||
| 1998 | Outstanding New Musical | Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case with Mordecai Richler | [21] | ||
| 2001 | Outstanding Musical Direction | Midnight Sun | [22] |