The Pierre Monteux School
is pleased to announce the appointment of
RUTH OCHS
Conducting Associate
Ruth Ochs studied as a conducting fellow at The Pierre
Monteux School for six summers under the tutelage of Maestro
Michael Jinbo, during which time she also served as orchestra
assistant and librarian. She is now in her sixth season as music
director of the Princeton University Sinfonia, and in her third
season as music director of the Westminster Community Orchestra,
based in Princeton, New Jersey. Both ensembles have grown
significantly under her leadership. The Princeton University
Sinfonia is now an established part of that University’s musical
life. The Westminster Community Orchestra recently collaborated
for the first time with a choir from the Westminster Choir
College. She is also resident conductor for the Westminster
Conservatory of Music’s faculty concert series. Previously she
was music director of the Austin Philharmonic and conducted the
top ensembles of the University of Texas String Project.
Ruth Ochs holds degrees in music from Harvard University and the
University of Texas at Austin. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D.
in musicology at Princeton University with a dissertation on the
use of folk music in 20th-century Polish music. Her scholarly
interests are wide-ranging, and her résumé includes essays on
and editions of several previously unpublished lieder by Fanny
Mendelssohn Hensel. Also a diversified musician, she has
performed as pianist and cellist throughout the United States
and in Europe. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her
cellist husband, Tomasz Rzeczycki, and their son, Sebastian.
