Pomperaug Woods To Host Piano and Cello Duet

 A woman with strong ties to the Southbury community will treat a special audience to a concert of her own compositions on Friday, July 23 at 7 p.m. at Pomperaug Woods, 80 Heritage Road, Southbury.

Sharon Ruchman of Washington, Conn., recently released a CD, "Sharon Ruchman Chamber Music," featuring eight pieces (18 tracks) that were all performed and recorded in Connecticut.

 Although Ruchman is known as a musician, her foray into composition and recording is fairly recent.

"A former cello teacher asked me to write a piece for cello and piano," said Ruchman. "After I wrote that piece I really took off and I've been writing a lot of music for cello and piano."

Mary Constanza, a cellist who also lives in Washington, will play with her Friday evening.

"Anytime there is an event, we play together," she added.

Ruchman was inspired as a child by her a great uncle, Rudolph Fuchs. He was a successful musician in his short life, playing for audiences such as U.S. presidents before he died in a plane crash at age 25.

"Music was really important in my family," Ruchman said. "I got to know all the people who played with my uncle and feel like I have a connection to him, even though we never met."

Ruchman's parents, Ray and Edith Fuchs, lived in Heritage Village before moving to Florida recently. Her husband, Dr. Mark Ruchman, of Oculofacial Associates of Connecticut in Southbury, does reconstructive eye surgery. His parents, Rita and Ernest Ruchman, were residents of Heritage Village until their deaths.

 "I've been performing piano and voice for years," Ruchman said. "There comes a certain time of your life when you come to things you didn't know were there. This (composing) is really creative, not like performing someone else's music."

"This is about imagery…getting an image and trying to express that image in music," she said. "I want people to have that emotion, to touch somebody." Her work is described as lyrical melodies and she was inspired by Debussy, Chopin and Brahms.

"I loved, when I took piano lessons, those lyrical composers," Ruchman said. "I didn't really practice and my teacher, Miss Goodkind, would kick me out. I called her 45 years later and then went to visit. Once there was resolution there I felt I could move on with my composing."

Ruchman has worked with violinist Alyce Cognetta Bertz, of Southbury. Her CD was recorded at The Dome in Southbury, at Kent Chapel in Kent and at the Hebert House, her home, in Washington. In addition to recording at her home, she uses a sunny room for her practicing and composing. "In the old days of Chamber Music it was all done in homes," she said.

 Two of Ruchman's compositions, "Day at Play" and "Day's End," were featured at the 10th annual Women Composers Festival in West Hartford in March, 2010. Last fall one of her compositions was selected by the National Composers Association to be performed as part of the Music Under the Redwoods concert in Portola, Calif.

Ruchman earned her master of music degree from the Yale School of Music, and her bachelor of music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.

She was an accompanist with the New England Conservatory chorus, and returned to Yale to study composition with Orianna Webb.

Brief 10-second intervals of each of the eight compositions on her new CD can be heard at www.SharonRuchman.com.

Reservations are necessary for the Friday evening concert. Call Pomperaug Woods at 203-262-6555, ext. 111, for more information or reservations.