once lost an argument with a
friend. Was TV or radio the most
revolutionary advancement in 20th century home entertainment?
I argued TV. It introduced sight with sound. He argued radio. Why? Sound crosses the threshold first. It brings entertainment into the home. Adding pictures, no matter how sweeping a change, was merely an add-on.
Ruth Ellen Kahn wants to go one step further by going two centuries back. It’s appropriate because “It was Mozart who changed my life,” says Kahn. She is the Founder of Musica Marin, bringing internationally known musicians from Europe,
An Intimate Experience
We put the chamber back in chamber music
I
14 MARIN ARTS & CULTURE
Ruth Ellen Kahn
by Noah Griffin
New York and the Bay Area into private homes for an intimate up-close experience unavailable in a concert hall setting.
“We put the chamber back into chamber music.”
An accomplished violinist specializing in the viola, Ms. Kahn graduated from Juilliard, spending 18 years with the New York City Ballet Orchestra.
Wanderlust has taken her to perform in Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Morocco (playing at the American Embassy followed by a performance for the Royal family in Jordan.)
She returns to play for the Spoleto Music Festival in Italy every summer.
Growing up the youngest of three children, Ruth was raised in a highly cultured family. It was required that all the children play an instrument. She was given a choice: the cello or the violin. A pragmatic child, she chose the violin. “Who wanted to walk to school burdened by a bulky cello?”
Mozart came into her life when she became a part of the Oakland and
Berkeley Youth Orchestras. Asked to
play the Mozart Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra, she fell in love with the “rich sound of the viola.”
Juilliard had always been a dream for this young woman. The opportunity came via a summer music camp scholarship to the Bowdoin Music Festival of Maine, where she came under the tutelage of Paul Doktor, who became her mentor.
Although at the time, Ruth was supported by a full scholarship at USC, Doktor wanted her to study with him at Juilliard. He persuaded her to audition, with the caveat: “The only thing which could prevent you from passing the audition is if you are nervous.”
The temptation for nerves was there. The night before the audition, Doktor, himself one of the judges suffered a heart attack and could not be present. Fortunately, he sent a napkin-scribbled note to the remaining judges: “I want this student.” He recovered and Ruth was admitted.
Along the way, Ruth has met and played with some of the world’s most important musicans. That bond