Ruth was Born in London in 1964. With her father a painter, and her mother a music teacher and author, Ruth grew up in a Bohemian household surrounded by artists, musicians and writers from all over the world. At the age of sixteen Ruth left the Yehudi Menuhin School to study in Dusseldorf with Johannes Goritzki whom she had met at the International Musicians' Seminar in Cornwall. Two years later she started her professional life, playing in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 1990 Ruth went to America where she continued her studies at the State University of New York with Timothy Eddy. There she received her Masters degree in performance. Upon her return to the UK she became a member of Glyndebourne Touring Opera where she played for
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twelve years. It was then that she took up the baroque cello, working with The New London Consort, La Serenissima and the Hanover Band. Since moving to France in 2004, Ruth has worked with the Musiciens du Louvre and the Concert d'Astrée, and is co-principal cellist of Opera Fuoco. Ruth continues to play with Garsington Opera and pursues an active life as a chamber musician.
Ruth has taught at Dartington Summer School, the Guildhall School of Music, European Youth Summer Music, Toulouse Conservatory, Cellos at Belle Serre and Klassik Keyifler. Informed by a training in ‘Voice Movement Therapy’ and by her work with yoga, Ruth specializes in helping people who suffer from performance stress and tension. She runs ‘Breathing Bow’ cello retreats from her home in Provence, has given a presentation at the European String Teacher’s Association conference in the UK and a workshop for the Royal Northern College of Music. Ruth’s writing on breath and performance has appeared in many places including The Strad and BBC music magazines. Ruth lives with her husband, the painter Julian Merrow-Smith, with whom she runs plein air painting workshops. They have a son, Louis, whom they adopted from Mali in 2011, and three cats.
Ruth has taught at Dartington Summer School, the Guildhall School of Music, European Youth Summer Music, Toulouse Conservatory, Cellos at Belle Serre and Klassik Keyifler. Informed by a training in ‘Voice Movement Therapy’ and by her work with yoga, Ruth specializes in helping people who suffer from performance stress and tension. She runs ‘Breathing Bow’ cello retreats from her home in Provence, has given a presentation at the European String Teacher’s Association conference in the UK and a workshop for the Royal Northern College of Music. Ruth’s writing on breath and performance has appeared in many places including The Strad and BBC music magazines. Ruth lives with her husband, the painter Julian Merrow-Smith, with whom she runs plein air painting workshops. They have a son, Louis, whom they adopted from Mali in 2011, and three cats.