Author Talk and Performance by Sharon Ruchman (In-Person)

Please note that this program will take place in person at the Noah Webster Library.

In her first book and memoir, The Gift of Rudy, Sharon Ruchman, an American composer, musician, and author, chronicles the life and tragic death of her great uncle, Rudolph “Rudy” Fuchs, who was a great violinist of his generation. She looks back at her authoritarian upbringing plagued by guilt and a lack of self-worth all the while discovering how tracing Rudy’s past frees her musically, giving her life richness and contentment. It’s a compelling story of two musical careers within the same family — Rudy’s ending at the age of 25 in a plane accident above the 1933 Chicago World’s Fairgrounds and Sharon’s blossoming in the 21st century after Rudy’s sheet music for violin and his prized viola find their way to her.

Since the book’s original publication in 2019, the revised edition presents additional items of Rudy’s that have found their way to Ruchman. In addition, it gives an update on her musical career and the success of SONORO, a musical ensemble offering a mix of jazz, blues, Latin, and classical, which she formed at the end of 2019.

After Ruchman talks about what led her to write her memoir, she will play Another Time, a musical composition she wrote in honor of Rudy. She will also play a few jazz-style piano pieces.  

American composer, pianist, and violist, Sharon Ruchman began her musical journey when she took up piano at the age of eight, later receiving a Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music from Yale School of Music. Her myriad accomplishments include the production of numerous albums, including original classical music for solo instrumentation and chamber ensembles, and tango. Most recently, she composed six additional albums with her musical ensemble, SONORO.