Ruth Sacks
Doctor of Musical Arts, Composition
Ruth Meyer Sacks teaches piano and musicianship at the Orpheus Academy of Music. A native Texan, Dr. Sacks earned her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Music Composition from the University of Pennsylvania, and her B.M. in Music Composition and Theory from the Oberlin Conservatory. Her primary composition teachers were George Crumb and Richard Wernick, and her primary piano teachers were Peter Takács and Alfred Mouledous.
Dr. Sacks has extensive experience teaching students of all ages. As a college lecturer, she taught musicianship and music theory classes at the University of Pennsylvania, Southern Methodist University, and Richland College. She has been a private piano teacher for several years, and has also taught both children’s piano classes and private lessons at the (former) Performing Arts School in Garland, Texas.
Among Dr. Sacks’ numerous prizes and honors are three BMI Student Composer Awards, an ASCAP Raymond Hubbell Musical Scholarship Award, and First Prize in the New England Reed Trio International Chamber Music Composition Competition. Her compositions have been performed by the New Music Consort at Weill Recital Hall (at Carnegie Hall), the New England Reed Trio, the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, the South Florida Youth Symphony, pianist Liliana Maffiotte (Barcelona, Spain), and at the College Music Society’s Thirtieth Annual Meeting. In 2011, Dr. Sacks moved with her husband and three children to Austin. When not teaching at Orpheus, she is active as a free-lance composer and enjoys spending time with her family.
Ruth Meyer Sacks teaches piano and musicianship at the Orpheus Academy of Music. A native Texan, Dr. Sacks earned her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Music Composition from the University of Pennsylvania, and her B.M. in Music Composition and Theory from the Oberlin Conservatory. Her primary composition teachers were George Crumb and Richard Wernick, and her primary piano teachers were Peter Takács and Alfred Mouledous.
Dr. Sacks has extensive experience teaching students of all ages. As a college lecturer, she taught musicianship and music theory classes at the University of Pennsylvania, Southern Methodist University, and Richland College. She has been a private piano teacher for several years, and has also taught both children’s piano classes and private lessons at the (former) Performing Arts School in Garland, Texas.
Among Dr. Sacks’ numerous prizes and honors are three BMI Student Composer Awards, an ASCAP Raymond Hubbell Musical Scholarship Award, and First Prize in the New England Reed Trio International Chamber Music Composition Competition. Her compositions have been performed by the New Music Consort at Weill Recital Hall (at Carnegie Hall), the New England Reed Trio, the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, the South Florida Youth Symphony, pianist Liliana Maffiotte (Barcelona, Spain), and at the College Music Society’s Thirtieth Annual Meeting. In 2011, Dr. Sacks moved with her husband and three children to Austin. When not teaching at Orpheus, she is active as a free-lance composer and enjoys spending time with her family.
