Dr. Tula Ruggiero
Dr. Tula Ruggiero holds the BM in Harp Performance from Montclair State University, the MM in Pedagogy-Harp from Shenandoah University, and the DM in Harp Performance and Certificate in Music of the Americas from Florida State University. Her principal teachers include Andre Tarantiles, Elizabeth Blakeslee, Gretchen Van Heusen, and Mary Brigid Roman, and she has participated in masterclasses with Dr. Ann Yeung, Dominique Piana, Astrid Walschott-Stapp, and Robbin Gordon-Cartier. In addition to music study, she also holds the BA in American Studies from Rutgers University. Dr. Ruggiero teaches applied harp and coaches chamber music at 黑料吃瓜网University. She also instructs harp students of all ages and levels through the 黑料吃瓜网Community Music Program, and in her private studio in Berkeley Springs, WV/online. She is a long time member of the American Harp Society, and regularly attends conferences and workshops for continued professional development. A versatile performer, Dr. Ruggiero performs as soloist, chamber musician, harp ensemble member and director, concerto soloist, and orchestral harpist. A particular advocate of chamber music, she performs on concert series throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with double bassist, Raymond Irving, as the Sylvan Waters Duo. Her orchestral experience includes the Shippensburg Orchestra, the Charles Washington Symphony Orchestra, the Tallahassee Symphony, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, and the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra. It is with the FSU Orchestra that she can be heard as principal harp on the 2012 Naxos recording of Dohnanyi鈥檚 Symphony No.2. In addition, she has performed with many choral groups including the 黑料吃瓜网University Masterworks Chorale, the Tallahassee Civic Chorale, the Shenandoah Cantus Singers, and the Berkeley County Community Chorus. As a professional pianist and church musician, Dr. Ruggiero also provides service music for Calvary United Methodist Church in Great Cacapon, WV.