On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Pierre Ruhe to the Early Music America team. His rich experience will help EMA remain a foremost source for the latest in historically informed performance, knitting our community together both through the EMAg and our online presence.
– Derek Tam, EMA Board President
This is an exciting moment of transition for Early Music America, and I couldn’t be happier to welcome Pierre to the staff team as he charts a bold path for early music journalism.
– David McCormick, EMA Executive Director
Pierre Ruhe has led a multi-faceted career as a writer, editor, arts administrator, and internet entrepreneur. He’s been a critic and cultural reporter for The Washington Post, London’s Financial Times, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, written and edited radio shows for NPR, the BBC, the Library of Congress, and San Francisco Symphony, and served as the founding executive director and editor of ArtsATL.org.
In 2011, he joined the Alabama Symphony Orchestra as director of artistic planning, winning two ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and initiating a concert series, “Classical Masters,” focused on Baroque, Classical and Neo-classical works in a smaller venue and with a reduced ensemble. The goal was to both broaden the repertoire and to encourage the skilled orchestral musicians to think of historically informed performance practice as a powerful tool. He invited early-music conductors to lead the band, often with revelatory results. He’s now researching and writing a book on the politics of Baroque opera.
I’m delighted to join Early Music America as Publications Director at an exciting time in the organization’s history, and it will be a joy to work with such a talented staff and board of directors. There are so many strong ensembles and fascinating ideas to explore as historically informed performance practice continues to enliven and enrich the music scene.
Like the rest of society, the early-music community is also coming to terms with the complex, often troubled history of its music and cultural biases. I look forward to continuing to explore, uncover and discuss the many facets of this history.
I’m especially honored to follow Don Rosenberg, a great journalist and editor, in editing EMA Magazine. In his years with EMA, he’s professionalized the magazine and taken it to a lofty new level.
– Pierre Ruhe.
Pierre began his position on December 6 and can be reached at pierre@earlymusicamerica.org or (412) 642-2778 ext. 204.
