House of Time

Gonzalo X. Ruiz has for decades been one of the world’s most critically acclaimed baroque oboists, appearing as principal and soloist with groups such as Age of Enlightenment, The English Concert, Wiener Akademie, Kolner Akedemie, Il Complesso Barocco, Handel and Haydn, Boston Baroque, and many others. He has been a member of Philharmonia for over thirty years. He has performed more works by Bach than any oboist in history, and is the only oboist ever to personally receive a Grammy nomination and a Gramophone award, as well as a WQXR Record of the Year Award (NYC). A pioneer in the use of historical instruments in contemporary music, he also received the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. He is the only American oboist ever to win a prize at the Brugges Early Music Competition (Belgium). His chamber ensemble House of Time can be heard on YouTube and maintains a loyal following at its long running NYC concert series. After years on the faculty at Oberlin, and now Juilliard, Mr. Ruiz has taught the large majority of professional baroque oboists in the U.S. including David Dickey, Debra Nagy, Priscilla Herreid, Stephen Bard, and many others. Mr. Ruiz is a multifaceted artist and has for many years conducted Musica Angelica (Los Angeles). Several examples of his historical reed reconstructions are on permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is also an active guitarist in both jazz and baroque music, and plays an anonymous 17th century Italian instrument refurbished by Guadagnini. He has done staging as well as music direction for opera (his production of Handel’s “Apollo e Dafne” was performed in Prague), and his composition “Sweet Pulcinella” was recently performed at Alice Tully Hall by Nicholas McGegan and Juilliard 415. His musical play about intrigue at Versailles, “A Poisonous Affair”, was performed in New York last season to sold out audiences. He has made reconstructions and performed premieres of works by Bach (BWV 1067, 2010 Grammy), Vivaldi (RV 28), and Tartini. On the modern instrument he is principal oboist of the Carmel Bach Festival, a position he previously held with New Century Chamber Orchestra, and Buenos Aires Philharmonic. Mr. Ruiz lives in Manhattan with his wife, violinist Tatiana Daubek, their daughter Sofia, and five parakeets.