— from Joyce Stone, OICMF —
A new month will bring a new Musician-in-Residence for string students. The Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival is pleased to welcome Ruth Boden, Associate Professor of Cello and Bass at Washington State University, to our Music Education program. She will coach elementary, middle school and high school string students March 2, 3 and 4. Thursday evening Ruth will hold a cello Master Class beginning at 7:00 pm in the School Band Room. On Friday, Ruth and several student musicians will perform at the Senior Center luncheon.
Pamela Wright, Orcas Public School Music Teacher, said, “I took Ruth’s class on improvisation and had such amazing fun learning from her. She did several workshops that weekend, and I could feel the passion she has for music and teaching. Ruth is an amazing musician and person, and she makes me want to learn more and be as passionate about music as she is.”
Ruth directs the Washington State University Orchestra string/piano chamber music. She is an active performer and has been a member of numerous orchestras throughout the Southeast and Northwest, including the Pensacola Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Washington Idaho Symphony, Spokane Symphony, as well as the Mid-Columbia Symphony. As a soloist, she has performed with the Washington Idaho Symphony and Coeur D’Alene Symphony. Ruth is an advocate for the recognition and performance of new music. She’s even performed Bach on a mountaintop! Watch this breathtaking performance from Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains:
Funding for the Orcas Island Chamber Festival 2015-16 Musicians-in-Residence program is from Mimi and Slim Sommerville and the Washington State Arts Commission.
