Ruth Lomon (7 November 1930 – 26 September 2017) was a Canadian classical composer. A native of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, she was born in Montreal and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She attended le Conservatoire de Quebec and

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. She continued her studies with Francis Judd Cooke at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

and later with

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

at Dartington College in England. In 1998, Lomon became Composer/Resident Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center,

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. She composed an oratorio, ''Testimony of Witnesses'', for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra. She was the recipient of a grant from the Hadassah International Research Center (now the

Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Brandeis University () is a private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a non-sectarian, coeducational university, Brandeis was established on the site ...

) for this work. She was commissioned by the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Boston to compose a trumpet concerto, ''Odyssey'', for

Charles Schlueter Charles Schlueter, born in Du Quoin, Illinois, is the retired principal trumpeter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Schlueter studied with William Vacchiano at the Juilliard School. Prior to his 25 years as principal of the BSO, he also held po ...

, principal trumpet of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. During 1995-96, Lomon was a fellow of the Bunting Institute,

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

, where she composed "Songs of Remembrance," a song cycle on poems of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. This hour length work was premiered at Harvard University's

John Knowles Paine John Knowles Paine (January 9, 1839 – April 25, 1906) was the first United States, American-born composer to achieve fame for large-scale orchestral music. The senior member of a group of composers collectively known as the Boston Six, Paine wa ...

Concert Hall, and has since had numerous performances including the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

, Washington, D.C. in April 1998, and the IAWM Congress in London, England, in July 1999 where she received the

Miriam Gideon Miriam Gideon (October 23, 1906 – June 18, 1996) was an American composer who wrote at least 130 pieces of music. Life Miriam Gideon was born in Greeley, Colorado, on October 23, 1906. She studied organ with her uncle Henry Gideon and piano wi ...

Composition award for this work. In 2001, she also received the Chicago Professional Musicians Award for the 10th song of the cycle, which is set for mezzo-soprano,

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

and piano. "Songs of Remembrance" is recorded on the CRI label. Lomon was composer-in-residence for Boston Secession, a professional choral ensemble directed by Jane Ring Frank. Lomon composed her oratorio ''Testimony of Witnesses'' for them and they performed movements of the work from 2000–2008. A full length oratorio based on the poetry of

victims and survivors, ''Testimony of Witnesses'' is scored for chamber orchestra, vocal ensemble, and four vocal soloists. The texts — in Hebrew, French, German, Italian, Polish, English and

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

— represent the personal experience of sixteen survivors and victims, including ten individual women and children.

References

External links

Official websiteArsis PressI Resound Press
bruceduffie.com, 9 August 1990 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lomon, Ruth 1930 births 2017 deaths American women classical composers American classical composers Radcliffe fellows McGill University alumni New England Conservatory alumni Brandeis University faculty 20th-century Canadian classical composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women composers Canadian women classical composers 20th-century Canadian women composers