Roia spent the majority of her childhood in Iran asking her parents for a piano. When that didn't work, she began to consider the guitar as an alternate. That seemed to do the trick, because her parents finally gave in, and they helped her buy her [+]Roia spent the majority of her childhood in Iran asking her parents for a piano. When that didn't work, she began to consider the guitar as an alternate. That seemed to do the trick, because her parents finally gave in, and they helped her buy her first guitar at the age of twelve.
After teaching herself how to play chords, Roia came to the United States and started lessons with various classical guitar students from the Hartt College of Music (University of Hartford). Many lessons later, she was accepted to the Music Therapy program at Temple University (in Philadelphia). Her focus at the time was on classical guitar; however, she loved to sing and play the songs of Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. During college she started to write a number of songs, mostly piano-based.
Years later, she surprised herself by beginning again to write songs- at first on the piano, but then, gradually, songs grew out of her guitar playing. She found herself influenced heavily by her work as a music therapist, using her songs as an emotional outlet, and as a way to cope with the experiences she had working with individuals who had a great deal of trauma.
Roia started to play at Open Mics in and around New Jersey in the mid-90s, and was delighted with the responses she received. One particularly positive response from Michael Kianka (DTC Records) led to her first CD, “Songs From Behind Locked Doors” in 1999. She is currently working on a second CD, due out in 2006.
Roia has played her songs in venues from Vermont to Georgia, and she has had the pleasure of providing back-up vocals for her friend Arlon Bennett's CD "Fountain of Dreams." Some of her songs were also included in the independent film by Donna Dudick, "The Mommy Track.”
In addition to her work as a music therapist, supporting folks with autism, Roia and a group of dedicated friends run the Common Grounds Coffeehouse, a monthly venue in Clinton, New Jersey. The focus of the coffeehouse is building an inclusive community through music and art by and for all people.
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