CELEBRATING WILLIE RUFF!
I will miss Willie Ruff.
Incredible person and extraordinary teacher, Willie was my teacher and friend.
I took every class he offered while I was a student at Yale School of Music. His fearless enthusiasm, generosity, encouragement and authenticity are just a few of the qualities I appreciate so much.
He even invited the students in our orchestration class to perform in a sold-out concert with his famous Mitchell-Ruff duo while I was a student at Yale.
And the way Willie communicated with an audience was amazing. I will always hear him saying from the stage "shoot me while I'm happy" as he performed with the incredible pianist Dwike Mitchell.
Long after graduating from Yale, Willie would travel to Lancaster to perform and receive my calls and encourage me on my various projects.
The way Willie reacted to one project I was creating with Amanda Kemp has had a deep impact.
On our way home from New Hampshire after creating a new work called the Chaconne Emancipated at an artists retreat, we stopped by Willie's office.
At the end of our visit Willie agreed to listen to this mix of Bach and spirituals and Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech.
At the end of the performance he was in tears. "I haven't cried for music in years, Mike."
And invited us to perform on the Duke Ellington series he directed at Yale.
Willie never stopped encouraging or supporting, he made me feel like anything is possible. I never made it down to Alabama after he retired from Yale, but we kept in touch through phone calls.
I continued learning from Willie long after my time as a student at Yale. I am learning from him right now and I miss him.
Willie Ruff, I am so grateful to you.
Thank you for teaching me.
Yesterday Amanda and I listened to Billy Strayhorn's last major work which he wrote for Willie and Dwike right before he died.
It's a beautiful piece of music, played by two virtuosos. Click the video on the left to hear for yourself! The video on the right is a feature from Yale.
