Reviews

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“Most outstanding was conductor David Rudge, who led a performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio

with Bernstein-like intensity.”

--The State, Columbia, SC

 

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“This director and orchestra have formed a magnificent marriage. It has been many years in Guatemala since we have heard an orchestra play with such inspiration. The orchestra shone.”

--Pensa Libre, Guatemala City

 

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“He is an activator. The Cairo Opera Orchestra pays attention to him. His needs are exigent, and he has his fingers, fine instruments, which help explain the messages he needs. He is a proper maestro, no lyrical-rhetorical body positions. He is there to get it, bring it out, and like Karl Boehm, he makes no fuss about it. When he wants to, buildings topple.”          

--Al-Ahram, Cairo

 

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“Rudge deserves credit not only for bringing such an outstanding artist to Stillwater, but also for enabling the orchestra to perform so well.”

 -- News Press, Stillwater, OK

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“The orchestra, under the insightful direction of Dr. David Rudge, demonstrated a tasteful understanding of stylistic variances. The translucent score of the Mozart opus [Impresario] as well as the verismo lushness of Puccini’s orchestration [Gianni Schicchi] were well served. Maestro Rudge’s tempi and control of dynamics continually displayed the singing voice to best advantage.”

--Observer, Dunkirk, NY

 

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“Definitely our symphony orchestra needed to experience a complete change in both the quality and programming and conducting. These changes have helped to develop the orchestra, as I have mentioned in my previous reviews. This development is totally due to the dynamism which has been injected into the orchestra by guest director David Rudge, and to the feeling that the musicians have put into their interpretations.”

 --Pensa Libre, Guatemala City

 

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“David Rudge conducts Woodstock Chamber Orchestra with passion . . . fabulous, sheer exultant jubilation.”

--Times, Woodstock, NY

 

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“Conductor David Rudge deserves a lot of credit for training his student musicians so well. Throughout the three hours of the opera [Carmen], the orchestra never flagged”

--Observer, Dunkirk, NY

 

 

Testimonials

 

“His leadership skills are exhilarating in that his love of sharing the beauty of music with all humans is first and foremost. . . It is rare to find such a gifted human being who possesses so many ideal qualities of musicianship, scholarship, and curiosity of life.”

--David Darling, Cellist

Grammy winning recording artist

 

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“Whether working behind the scenes or on the podium, David Rudge presided over an impressive revival, and we are grateful to him for his decisive help.”

--Dick Smith, President, 

Amigos de la Orquesta

Sinfónica Nacional de Guatemala

 

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“The beauty and value that David Rudge has brought to Orchard Park is beyond measure.”

--Nan Ackerman,

Town Council Member

Orchard Park, NY

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“It is obvious that he cares deeply about his students and about music, but no matter how complex the music or event he was leading, he was never flustered. David never lost sight of what was most important – the level his students were at and what they needed from him to excel. In a short time I developed great respect for his integrity and idealism, and his willingness to look at the very long view. . . He is a rare human being, artist and educator.”

-- Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist  

 

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“When examining David’s worldwide conducting background and the reaction to such, [one gains] a clear sense of the energy and vitality he brings to this work, and his capacity to transmit this to the groups he leads. Given the well-known compromised fulfillment levels in the symphony orchestra world, the importance of this cannot be overstated. With David, it is all about the music, and few in the field are able to draw upon the scope of artistry that is part of his very being, and which comes out in all that he does.”

-- Ed Sarath

Professor of Music

University of Michigan