people

Cellist Ruth Mudge gave us the scoop on her involvement with the ESO and how she got started...

How long have you played with ESO?

I’ve played with the ESO for 10 years.

What instrument do you play and how did you gravitate to that instrument?

I play the cello. I started on piano at the age of 6. When I was 10, the music school that I attended for chamber music and theory had a fundraiser to try different instruments for 10 minutes. I tried the cello and really enjoyed it. (I also enjoyed trying the harpsichord but recognized that it would be harder to convince my parents to have in the house.) I think what drew me was the low tones and melodic quality that can emerge from the cello. 

What piece is on your bucket list to play with ESO and why?

I’ve already played a few pieces on my bucket list with the ESO over the past 10 years! Sergei 

Prokofiev’s “The Death of Tybalt” from Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorites since I was a teenager and I would love to play that. The frenetic and tragic nature is so clearly heard in the storytelling of the music even without seeing the ballet. 

Biography

Ruth Mudge, a former native of Connecticut, is a cello instructor and performer in the Western Suburbs of the Chicago area.  She grew up playing both the piano and cello in a musical household.  

Ruth is a current faculty member of the String Academy of Chicago on both cello and piano as well as the cello instructor and coach in several local high schools in the Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Naperville areas. 

Ruth is the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Elmhurst Symphony.  She has performed around the area in concerts and gigs ranging from weddings to retirement homes to home concerts to a WFMT live broadcast this past June.  She loves to share both classical music as well as participating in a worship music band at her local church.  

Besides performing and teaching, Ruth loves to explore other ways of sharing music from arranging to writing original songs to hosting a podcast on TV and movie soundtracks entitled 'World of Soundtracks'. 

Ruth received her Masters of Music at DePaul University and her Bachelors of Music from Wheaton College, studying with teachers such as Stephen Balderston, Tanya Carey, and Daniel Davies.  

Ruth was an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in 2009-10 and participated in their MusiCorps program presenting chamber music throughout Chicago.  She plays a 2005 Goronok cello and has been the only owner of “Monti.”