Mary Ruth Ray (1956–2013) was an internationally known

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

ian who received critical acclaim throughout the United States,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and Russia.

Career

Ray was a faculty member at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

where she taught viola and chamber music from 1980 to 2013. She was appointed Chair of the Music Department at Brandeis in 2005 and held that position for eight years. As co-founder and violist of the Lydian String Quartet she was awarded prizes at competitions in France, England and Canada, and was a 1984 winner of the Naumburg Award for Excellence in Chamber Music. During her 33-year career she performed at such world-class venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress. She performed as guest artist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Fromm Series at Harvard University, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the

Bard Music Festival The Bard Music Festival is an annual classical music festival held during the month of August on the campus of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Founded in 1990, the festival was created with the intention of finding ways to present th ...

, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Boston Musica Viva, Juneau Jazz and Classics, and was invited to present a featured concert/demonstration of the Bach Cello Suites for the 13th International Viola Congress. As a member and soloist with

Emmanuel Music Emmanuel Music is a Boston-based collective group of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith. It was created specifically to perform the complete cycle of over 200 sacred cantatas of J. S. Bach in the liturgical setting for whic ...

in Boston, she performed the complete cycle of over two hundred sacred cantatas by J.S. Bach as well as chamber music of Debussy, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and John Harbison on its acclaimed "encyclopedic exploration of great composers" series. Ray was a recording artist with CRI, Nonesuch, Centaur, Harmonia Mundi, New World, and Tzadik Records. Several of her 30-plus recordings with the Lydian String Quartet were chosen "Best of the Year" by ''The New York Times''. Ray also played on the motion picture soundtrack recording of ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...

'' (composed and conducted by John Williams), and appeared on screen as violist-performer in the movie ''

Yes, Giorgio ''Yes, Giorgio'' is a 1982 American musical–comedy film starring Luciano Pavarotti. The film is based on the 1961 novel by Anne Piper. ''Yes, Giorgio'' also stars Kathryn Harrold, Eddie Albert, Paola Borboni, James Hong, Joseph Mascolo, Leon ...

'' (starring Luciano Pavarotti, with the Boston Pops Orchestra).

Personal life

Ray was a graduate of the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...

. She was known to friends and colleagues as "Violet," "Vi" and "U.V." She married violist Leonard Matczynski in 1978 and had a son.

Death

She died from breast cancer at age 56 on January 29, 2013.

References

External links

* * 1956 births 2013 deaths American classical musicians American classical violists Women violists Brandeis University faculty Deaths from breast cancer State University of New York at Purchase alumni Women in classical music 20th-century classical musicians {{violist-stub