Artists

Biography:

Elena Ruehr says of her music, ‘the idea is that the surface be simple, the structure complexWritten for violinist Tom Stone, this piano trio is subtitled ‘S . And from Gramophone Magazine, ‘The sound world is wholly Ruehr: it never sounds like anyone else and the effect is exhilarating… her output is unified by her desire to communicate effectively without compromise…’

Currently composer-in-residence with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, her discography includes orchestral works (O’Keeffe Images, BMOP Sound), the opera Toussaint Before the Spirits (BMOP Sound), cantatas (Averno, with the Trinity Choir, Avie), and chamber music (Six String Quartets, with the Cypress String Quartet, Borromeo Quartet and Stephen Salters, Avie). Her other recordings include Icarus (Avie), Jane Wang considers the dragonfly (Albany), Lift (Avie), Shimmer (with Metamorphosen
Chamber Ensemble, Albany) and Shadow Light (with the New Orchestra of Washington / Marcus Thompson, Acis), among many others.

While she has a standing collaboration with Quartet ES, her works have also been commissioned, recorded, and performed by numerous other ensembles including the Arneis, Biava, Borromeo, Cypress, Delgani, Lark, Quartet Nouveau, Roco and Shanghai string quartets. An award-winning faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and composer-in-residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Known for her vocal music and collaboration with poets, she has written five operas, five cantatas and a number of songs. She has also written extensively for orchestra, chorus, wind ensemble, chamber ensemble, instrumental solo, opera, dance and silent film. Her work has been performed internationally and has been described as ‘sumptuously scored and full of soaring melodies’ (New York Times) and ‘unspeakably gorgeous’ (Gramophone). ‘Whenever this trio plays, drop everything and go hear them!’ hailed the Boston Globe on the occasion of the Boston Trio’s Tanglewood debut at Ozawa Hall. Acclaimed for their superb sense of ensemble and wondrous balance, these virtuosic and profound musicians are committed to creating exceptional and daring performances of the standard and contemporary repertoire.