Christine Rutledge, viola

Christine Rutledge, viola
Violist Christine Rutledge has appeared as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician throughout the United
States and abroad. Her performances and recordings have been praised in such publications as The Strad, Fanfare, The
New York Times, and The New York Concert Review. Recent solo performances and master classes include those at four
International Viola Congresses in the US, Germany, and Sweden; the University of Michigan; the Oberlin
Conservatory; Arizona State University; the University of Arizona; the University of Northern Arizona; the University
of Kansas; and Bowling Green State University.
Rutledge's repertoire spans major works from the standard repertory to lesser-known and obscure works for the viola,
particularly those for viola in unusual combinations. She also performs many of her original transcriptions of Baroque
compositions on both modern and Baroque viola, including the Bach Cello Suites and Sonatas for viola da gamba.
During the 2002-03 concert season she performed these complete works as a four-recital cycle. As a champion of new
works she has commissioned many new compositions including Chimera for Viola and Harpsichord by C.P. First,
Nudged Along on Time’s Notched Stick for Flute, Viola, and Guitar by Zae Munn, Hamadryad for alto flute, viola, and
guitar by Jeremy Dale Roberts, and a duo for viola and percussion by Claude Baker with a Center for New Music
Commissioning Grant, which will be premiered in the 2003-04 concert season.
Currently Rutledge holds the position of associate professor of viola at The University of Iowa. She serves on the
executive board of the American Viola Society, and is president of the Iowa Viola Society. For six years she served as
Assistant Principal Viola of the Louisville Orchestra and violist of the Ceruti Chamber Players and the Kentucky
Center Chamber Players. She has also been a member of the faculty at the University of Notre Dame. Festival
appearances include the Roycroft Music Festival, the Sewanee Summer Music Center, "Brunch with Bach" series at the
Detroit Institute of Art, the Manitou Music Festival, the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Interlochen Center for the
Arts, and the Fontana Chamber Arts Festival.
Rutledge is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music as a student of Karen Tuttle and Michael Tree, and The
University of Iowa with William Preucil, Sr. She is also a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, where she was
honored as Valedictorian and recipient of a Young Artist Award. Among her many honors are Prizewinner in the
Aspen Festival Viola Competition, an Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist’s Fellowship, recipient of an Eli Lilly
Foundation grant for undergraduate teaching development, as well as several awards from the Institute for Scholarship
in the Liberal Arts at the University of Notre Dame and the Arts and Humanities Initiative at The University of Iowa.
Excerpts from selected reviews:
"Christine Rutledge was most impressive -- for the large tone she produced and the command that she brought to her
many solo passages." Robert Rhein, South Bend Tribune
"Violist Christine Rutledge seemed to capture perfectly the work's [Rebecca Clarke Sonata for Viola and Piano]
understated, veiled quality...Most impressive was the rich tone achieved in the romantic, ala Ralph Vaughan-Williams,
last section." Matthew Steel, Kalamazoo Gazette

With the Notre Dame String Trio:
"A courageously enterprising and impressively well-played program...All three players, viola especially, projected
sumptuously." Harris Goldsmith, New York Concert Review
"...excellent rhythmic articulation, spot-on intonation and superior tonal blend (especially due to the plangent viola of
Christine Rutledge)..." The Strad
"Sunday’s performance was brilliant." Matthew Steel, Kalamazoo Gazette
For the CD Chamber Works of David Diamond for Strings and Piano
"...these are thrilling and deeply satisfying performances -- captured in crystal-clear sound -- that leave no margin for
error or improvement. An essential contribution to the American chamber-music discography."
Paul A. Snook, Fanfare
"I can’t say enough about the high level of these performances...The rhythmic acuity and dead-on intonation of each of
the string-players are nothing short of brilliant." Craig Zeichner, Fanfare
"The recording is as full of spit and vinegar as the playing; it fairly leaps out of the speakers. Bravo to all concerned!"
Lehman, American Record Guide
For the CD Hindemith String Trios
"The individual players match reliable intonation with smooth tone production, and their ensemble blend is marvelous.
Warm, intimate sound adds a final touch...this Centaur disc is highly recommended." Fanfare
"The Notre Dame Trio...sounds as if they really enjoy playing Hindemith...you will not be disappointed..." Tully Potter,
The Strad