Charlotte Ruegger (17 November 187616 June 1959) was a Swiss composer, conductor, violinist, and music educator who taught at several colleges in the United States. She received Belgium's Medal for Bravery for her service during World War I.
Early life
Ruegger was born in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
to a musical family. Her father Julius was a government official. Her mother was a music teacher, her sister
Elsa Ruegger was known as the "world's best cello player", and her sister Valeria taught piano. The family moved to Belgium during Ruegger's childhood, and she graduated from the
University of Brussels at age 16, although girls were not awarded diplomas at the time. She won first prize in violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, then continued postgraduate work in Italy at the
University of Florence
The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled.
History
The f ...
and in Berlin at the
Stern Conservatory. Her teachers included Jean-Baptiste Colyns,
Cesar Thomson (she also worked as his assistant), and Florian Zajic.
Career
Ruegger presented violin recitals throughout Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland before going to America in 1913, where she taught violin at
Oberlin Conservatory
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in ...
.
World War I broke out while she was visiting her mother in Belgium and she stayed there, volunteering as a Red Cross nurse. She became a captain and was briefly imprisoned for distributing the underground newspaper ''
La Libre Belgique
''La Libre Belgique'' (; ), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in both Brussels and Wallonia. ''La Libre'' was ...
''. She was awarded Belgium's highest honor, the Medal for Bravery, for her work during World War I.
Ruegger returned to America after the war, where she was the director of the Fayetteville (North Carolina) School of Music and its violin teacher in 1920. In 1926, she was a faculty member of the summer assembly at Bay View, Michigan.
She chaired the music department at
Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the violin and music theory departments at
Albion College
Albion College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students as of Fall 2021 ...
in Michigan before joining the
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...
(Ohio) faculty in 1933. She conducted the University of Toledo orchestra and chorus from 1935 to 1950.
Compositions
Ruegger's music was published by
Carl Fischer Music,
(today
Theodore Presser Company),
Gamble Hinged Music,
and
Rubank Inc.
Her compositions included:
Chamber
*''Air Antique'' (violin)
*''Capriccio Brilliante'' (three violins and piano)
*''Concertante in G Major'' (violin and piano)
*''Etudes for Violin''
*''Gavotte Facile'' (violin and piano)
*''Hungarian Caprice'' (violin and piano)
*''Raindrops (Perpetuum Mobile)'' (violin and piano)
*''Sonata for Violin''
Orchestra
*Concerto for Violin
Vocal
*Choral works published by Gamble Hinged Music
References
External links
Listen to music by Charlotte Rueggervia YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruegger, Charlotte
1876 births
1959 deaths
Swiss women composers
Swiss women violinists
Swiss classical violinists
Swiss women music educators
20th-century Swiss women educators
20th-century Swiss educators
Musicians from Lucerne
University of Florence alumni
Oberlin College faculty
Albion College faculty
University of Toledo faculty
Women conductors (music)
Swiss people of World War I