School of Music
David Rudge

David Rudge

Director of Orchestral Activities

David.Rudge@fredonia.edu

Mason Hall 1143
716-673-4644 phone
716-673-3154 fax

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Bio:

Dr. David Rudge serves as the Director of the College Symphony Orchestra and Director of the Opera Orchestra at the State University of New York at Fredonia.  Additionally, he is Music Director of the Orchard Park Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted orchestras on five continents to rave reviews. As Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Guatemala he was credited with the dramatic rebirth of that orchestra. Described as "dynamic" and "electric," Guatemala's Prensa Libre wrote, "It has been many years since we have heard a symphony orchestra play with such inspiration." Dr. Rudge founded the Eastminster Chamber Orchestra, and was Assistant Conductor of the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra, the Columbia Lyric Opera and Ballet, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. During that time he was noted for his "Bernstein-like intensity" by The State, Columbia, SC. He was chosen several times to prepare the Beethoven Chamber Orchestra for the International Workshop for Conductors in ZlÌn, Czech Republic. He has guest conducted the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra in Mariánské Lázne, CR, and, as a two time winner of the International Opera Conductors' Competition, he was invited to conduct a complete production of Rigoletto at the Silesian State Opera in the Czech Republic, and to lead the Vratza Philharmonic in Bulgaria. In 1996, as an Artistic Ambassador for the State Department, he spent two months in Damascus, Syria conducting the National Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. He has conducted the Opera and Orchestra at the Rome Festival, Italy, and has guest conducted the Dialecto Urbano Chorus, Caracas, Venezuela, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, with Jean-Luc Ponty as soloist, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra.

Holding degrees from the Hartt School of Music, the University of Houston, and the University of South Carolina, Dr. Rudge has also studied conducting at the Dartington School, England, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Pierre Monteux School, the Aspen Music Festival, the National Conservatory of Romania, and with such notables as Charles Bruck, Max Rudolf, Gunther Schuller, and Maurice Abravanel. Violin study was with Yumi Ninomiya, Jascha Brodsky, Renato Bonacini, and Fredell Lack. Chamber music coaching has been with members of the Curtis, Cleveland, Kolisch, Amadeus, Portland, Razumovsky and Emerson String Quartets. Dr. Rudge has taught at Oklahoma State University, the University of South Carolina, Colby College, and the Hartt School of Music; at the Conservatorio Nacional, Guatemala; the Higher Institute of Music, Damascus, Syria; the Omega Institute of Holistic Studies, New York; and was a guest conductor at the Friedman School, Caracas, Venezuela. He has been coach and guest conductor of the Boston, Columbia, Houston and Costa Rican Youth Orchestras, as well as many student honor-orchestras. At SUNY Fredonia he teaches one of the country's few non-jazz Free Improvisation courses. Dr. Rudge has played as both a violinist and violist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, the Charleston Symphony, the Portland Symphony, and the Houston Grand Opera. He was the first violinist of the Andrea String Quartet, and was invited to perform with the Portland String Quartet in their 25th Anniversary concert.