RANDY ANDROPOLIS is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator, and musical director whose work has shaped the greater Niagara Falls community’s artistic landscape for more than four decades. He began studying piano at age 4½ with Alfred DiRocco; later studying with Glenn Tilyou, and then notably with Beveridge Webster, head of the Piano Department at Julliard School of Music in NYC.

Degreed in Music Pedagogy from St. Louis Institute of Music, he returned to Niagara Falls in 1972 and began a seven-year stint teaching piano (and guitar, under John Mameli) at D’Amico Music. Randy is a private music instructor in multiple instruments & recording, also tutoring composition, theory & instrumentation, specializing in preparing students for college. He has taught privately for decades, including at Generations Music and Lewiston Music (now Niagara Music).

A former studio arranger (Earthland Studio, Niagara Falls, Ontario ) he has many recordings to his credit, including 23 full length original albums and CDs, and has contributed to many others, both in the US and UK. His catalog of copywritten songs numbers nearly 200. Randy was band leader of many groups in WNY, including ‘Hardgrove’ and ‘Alias’; an eclectic wedding band, exclusively booked by Jerry D’Amico, that prospered for nine years, performing at many diverse functions, to include the opening act for Tommy Tedesco. Randy administered The Music School of Niagara in Niagara County from 1990 until 2008, employing well over 20 music instructors. Its final location was at the NACC. His Celtic group ‘Heirloom’ toured the UK and Northern Ireland in 2000, co-sponsored by the BBC.

He also served as a U.S. liaison and road manager for Green Linnet recording artists. He adapted a two-part musical for children, ‘Character Matters’, and directed it for Lew-Port IEC as their 2010 Spring Production. Randy was once featured live on mandolin by the world-renowned Irish group ‘The Chieftains’, at ArtPark. He was also the director of ArtPark’s annual Rock Camps for teens, from 2010 to 2015.

For many years, Randy has been an adjunct professor of Music Histories at Niagara University, also having been a musical director, sound designer and composer with Niagara University Theatre and Shakespeare in Delaware Park in Buffalo. He has composed & performed 13 original full-length scores. In 2017, Randy gave the testimonial address when Robbie Robertson (guitarist for The Band & Bob Dylan; also Martin Scorsese’s musical director) came to Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario to be placed on the Indigenous rolls and presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2024, after Robbie passed, Randy also delivered a memorial address for Robbie’s entire family. Randy is absolutely honored and delighted to be included among the many outstanding and inspirational musicians in the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame.

Undoubtedly, he has inspired countless students, colleagues, and audiences. It is not only an honor to celebrate his lifelong dedication to music but also his lasting impact on the creative spirit and the classrooms, where he shares his love of music with countless students and future musicians. It is a pleasure to welcome Randy Andropolis into the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame.