Charlotte Ruegger (17 November 187616 June 1959) was a Swiss composer, conductor, violinist, and music educator who taught at several colleges in the United States. She received Belgium's Medal for Bravery for her service during World War I.

Early life

Ruegger was born in

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

to a musical family. Her father Julius was a government official. Her mother was a music teacher, her sister Elsa Ruegger was known as the "world's best cello player", and her sister Valeria taught piano. The family moved to Belgium during Ruegger's childhood, and she graduated from the

University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

at age 16, although girls were not awarded diplomas at the time. She won first prize in violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, then continued postgraduate work in Italy at the University of Florence and in Berlin at the Stern Conservatory. Her teachers included Jean-Baptiste Colyns, Cesar Thomson (she also worked as his assistant), and Florian Zajic.

Career

Ruegger presented violin recitals throughout Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland before going to America in 1913, where she taught violin at Oberlin Conservatory. World War I broke out while she was visiting her mother in Belgium and she stayed there, volunteering as a Red Cross nurse. She became a captain and was briefly imprisoned for distributing the underground newspaper '' La Libre Belgique''. She was awarded Belgium's highest honor, the Medal for Bravery, for her work during World War I. Ruegger returned to America after the war, where she was the director of the Fayetteville (North Carolina) School of Music and its violin teacher in 1920. In 1926, she was a faculty member of the summer assembly at Bay View, Michigan. She chaired the music department at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the violin and music theory departments at Albion College in Michigan before joining the University of Toledo (Ohio) faculty in 1933. She conducted the University of Toledo orchestra and chorus from 1935 to 1950.

Compositions

Ruegger's music was published by Carl Fischer Music, Eklan-Vogel (today Theodore Presser Company), Gamble Hinged Music, and Rubank Inc. Her compositions included:

Chamber

*''Air Antique'' (violin) *''Capriccio Brilliante'' (three violins and piano) *''Concertante in G Major'' (violin and piano) *''Etudes for Violin'' *''Gavotte Facile'' (violin and piano) *''Hungarian Caprice'' (violin and piano) *''Raindrops (Perpetuum Mobile)'' (violin and piano) *''Sonata for Violin''

Orchestra

*Concerto for Violin

Vocal

*Choral works published by Gamble Hinged Music

References

External links

Listen to music by Charlotte Ruegger
via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruegger, Charlotte Swiss women composers 1876 births 1959 deaths People of World War I Swiss women violinists Swiss classical violinists Swiss women music educators 20th-century Swiss women educators 20th-century Swiss educators Musicians from Lucerne University of Florence alumni Oberlin College faculty Albion College faculty University of Toledo faculty Women conductors (music)