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Elena Ruehr (1963-     )

Elena Ruehr, composerElena Ruehr has been called a “composer to watch” by Opera News, and her music has been described as “stunning...beautifully lighted by [a] canny instinct for knowing when and how to vary key, timbre, and harmony” by The Boston Globe. Ruehr grew up in Michigan’s isolated Upper Peninsula, where her musical training began at home with her mother, who sang and played the guitar. Her father, a mathematician, played jazz piano. She began playing piano and composing at age four, and later studied modern dance.  Her town of 4,000 was also home to Finnish kantele player and classical composer Melvin Kangas, whom Ruehr counts as her earliest mentor. She then studied with William Bolcom at the University of Michigan and Vincent Persichetti at The Juilliard School. In addition to her classical studies, she played in the University of Michigan Gamelan ensemble and studied West African drumming. She has had commissions, awards and residencies with leading ensembles and presenters across the country including the Shanghai, Borromeo and Cypress Quartets, the Washington Chorus, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston, the Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble, the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, the Cincinnatti Symphony, the Omaha Symphony, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the New York Youth Symphony, the Florestan Project, North Carolina Chamber Music Festival, Dinosaur Annex, Centrum Chamber Music Festival, Roanoke Virginia Chamber Music Festival, East Carolina University, and Villa Montalvo. Recently, she has written two string quartets for the Cypress String Quartet. In 2005, she wrote her String Quartet No. 4 for the ensemble, and The Washington Post called it “music with heart and...a forceful sense of character and expression.” Her second quartet for the group, Bel Canto (2010), is based on Ann Patchett’s novel of the same title. In addition to the Cypress Quartet, advocates for her music include the Borromeo String Quartet, the Shanghai String Quartet, and baritone Stephen Salters. A faculty member at M.I.T. since 1991, Ruehr has lectured at Princeton University, Boston College, Boston Conservatory, Longy School of Music, Berklee School of Music, Eastman School of Music, and Oberlin Conservatory, and was a fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute, Yaddo, and the Aspen Center for Compositional Studies. She was composer - in - residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project from 2000-2005, and the orchestra premiered her pieces Shimmer, Sky Above Clouds and Ladder to the Moon, as well as her acclaimed opera Toussaint Before the Spirits in collaboration with Opera Boston. Her orchestral music has also been performed by the Cincinnati Symphony, the Omaha Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. A natural collaborator across genres, Ruehr has worked with the Nicola Hawkins Dance Company on critically acclaimed performances in New York and Boston. She also wrote the film score for the documentary The Manhattan Trade School for Girls, part of the Treasures from the National Film Archives’ Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film.

COMPOSITIONS                                                            Ruehr Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre
Of Water and Clouds, flute and piano (1986)
Slender Wind, soprano, percussion, double bass and piano (1988)
Rain Down, chorus and piano (1989)
Vocalissimus, chamber orchestra (1991)
First String Quartet (1991)
Sky Above Clouds, orchestra (1993)
Black and White, clarinet and piano (1993)
Spin, wind ensemble (1995)
Shimmer, string orchestra (1995)
The Voyage Out, brass (or saxophone) ensemble (1995)
The Scarlatti Effect, violin, cello and piano (1997)
Lullabies and Spring Songs, baritone and piano (1998)
Cricket, Spider, Bee, chorus, harp, timpani, percussion (1999) [also w/string orchestra]
The Law of Floating Objects, 5 flutes (2000)
Song of the Silkie, baritone and string quartet (2000)
Cymbal and Spice, Kurzweil 2500 (2000)
This same stream of life runs through my veins, dance piece (2000) [choreographed to music by Ruehr]
Gospel Cha Cha, baritone, chorus and orchestra (2001)
Third String Quartet (2001)
Preludes, piano (2002)
Toussaint Before the Spirits, opera (2003)
Ladder to the Moon, orchestra (2003)
Echoes, dance piece (2004)
Mozart Remix, cello and harpsichord (2004)
In Time of Silver Rain, chorus or girl’s chorus (2005)
    -In Time of Silver Rain, brass ensemble and percussion (2005)
Fourth String Quartet (2005)
Exodus, soprano, violin, viola, cello and harp (2006)
Lullaby/Alleluia, soprano, baritone, piano and digital delay (2006)
Manhattan Trade School for Girls, silent film score, girl’s chorus and string quartet (2007)
Blackberries, violin (or clarinet), cello and piano (2007)
Jane Wang Considers the Dragonfly, flute w/digital delay (2007)
Red, violin (2007)
Averno, cantata, soprano, baritone, chorus, oboe, harp, timpani and string orchestra (2008)
Prelude Variations, 2 strings (violin and cello; viola and cello) (2008)
Waiting for Cinque to Speak, baritone and piano (2009)
Bel Canto, string quartet (2010)

Second String Quartet (????, withdrawn?)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Ruehr Links     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
This same stream of life runs through my veins, dance piece (2000) [choreographed to music by Ruehr]
Toussaint Before the Spirits, opera (2003)
Echoes, dance piece (2004)

Orchestra
Vocalissimus, chamber orchestra (1991)
Sky Above Clouds, orchestra (1993)
Shimmer, string orchestra (1995)
Ladder to the Moon, orchestra (2003)

Band
Spin, wind ensemble (1995)

Chorus w/Orchestra
Cricket, Spider, Bee, chorus, harp, timpani, percussion (1999) [also w/string orchestra]
Gospel Cha Cha, baritone, chorus and orchestra (2001)
Averno, cantata, soprano, baritone, chorus, oboe, harp, timpani and string orchestra (2008)

Choral
Rain Down, chorus and piano (1989)
Cricket, Spider, Bee, chorus, harp, timpani, percussion (1999) [also w/string orchestra]
In Time of Silver Rain, chorus or girl’s chorus (2005)
Manhattan Trade School for Girls, silent film score, girl’s chorus and string quartet (2007)

Chamber
String Quartet No. 1 (1991) [First String Quartet]
    - Patterns
    - Interlude
    - Let's Sit Beneath the Stars
    - Estampie
The Voyage Out, brass (or saxophone) ensemble (1995)
The Scarlatti Effect, violin, cello and piano (1997)
The Law of Floating Objects, 5 flutes (2000)
String Quartet No. 2 (????. withdrawn?) [Second String Quartet]
String Quartet No. 3 (2001) [Third String Quartet]
    - Clay Flute
    - The Abbey
    - How She Danced
    - Bell Call
In Time of Silver Rain, brass ensemble and percussion (2005)
String Quartet No. 4 (2005) [Fourth String Quartet]
Blackberries, violin (or clarinet), cello and piano (2007)
Prelude Variations, 2 strings (violin and cello; viola and cello) (2008)
Bel Canto, string quartet (2010)

Solo Instrument
Of Water and Clouds, flute and piano (1986)
Black and White, clarinet and piano (1993)
Mozart Remix, cello and harpsichord (2004)
Jane Wang Considers the Dragonfly, flute w/digital delay (2007)
Red, violin (2007)

Piano/Keyboard
Cymbal and Spice, Kurzweil 2500 (2000)
Preludes, piano (2002)

Vocal
Slender Wind, soprano, percussion, double bass and piano (1988)
Lullabies and Spring Songs, baritone and piano (1998)
Song of the Silkie, baritone and string quartet (2000)
Exodus, soprano, violin, viola, cello and harp (2006)
Lullaby/Alleluia, soprano, baritone, piano and digital delay (2006)
Waiting for Cinque to Speak, baritone and piano (2009)

Incidental/Film
Manhattan Trade School for Girls, silent film score, girl’s chorus and string quartet (2007)


RUEHR  LINKS                                                            Works by Genre      ~ top of page ~
Art Talk: Elena Ruehr, Composer (MIT News)
Change, Continuity – and More Than a Few Successes (Sounding Board/American Composers Forum)
Cypress Quartet Plays Work of Brookline Composer (Keith Powers, Cambridge Chronicle)
Cypress String Quartet: Attracted by the Opposites (The Washington Post)
Elena Ruehr: An Interview by Tom Moore (Opera Today)
Elena Ruehr: How She Danced (Phil Muse/Sequenza21)
…the Music of Elena Ruehr (Doug, Endless Possibilities)
Ruehr’s Novel ‘Response’ to Cypress’ ‘Call’ (Jeff Kaliss, San Francisco Classical Voice)
Ruehr Strikes the Right Note (Sarah H. Wright, MIT News)
SFist Interviews Composer Elena Ruehr (SFirst)

Composer's website        . . . contact Elena Ruehr: ruehr@mit.edu

Ruehr @ American Composers Forum
Ruehr @ Answers.com
Ruehr @ Arsis Recordings
Ruehr @ Christina Jensen PR
Ruehr @ Dilettante Music
Ruehr @ InstantEncore
Ruehr @ Kalvos & Damian
Ruehr @ Meet the Composer
Ruehr @ MIT
Ruehr @ Montalvo Arts Center
Ruehr @ The New York Times
Ruehr @ NPR

Publisher
Ruehr @ Composer website

Streaming Audio
Ruehr @ Composer's website    also     here
Ruehr @ Kalvos & Damian
Ruehr @ last.fm

Recordings
Ruehr @ Composer's website
Ruehr @ Albany Records
Ruehr @ ArkivMusic
Ruehr @ Arsis Recordings
Ruehr @ ClassicsOnline

Video
Ruehr @ YouTube
Ruehr @ Google Video
Ruehr @ Vimeo
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