Oskar Espina Ruiz has been described by the press as a “masterful soloist” and a “highly expressive” clarinetist who “brings forth the notes with an energy that reaches down to one's soul.” Over the past nine years Espina Ruiz has performed at major concert halls and festivals to high critical acclaim, including concerto performances at the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and recitals at Carnegie's Weill Hall in New York, the Corcoran Museum in Washington DC, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Oji Hall in Tokyo, the Madrid Royal Superior Conservatory, the Beijing and Shanghai Conservatories and Radio Television Hong Kong. He has appeared as soloist with the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony (Russia), St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic (Russia), Orquesta Sinfónica de la Ciudad de Asunción (Paraguay) and Bilbao Symphony (Spain). His chamber music collaborations include the Shanghai, Escher and Calla quartets, the Quintet of the Americas, pianist Anthony Newman, cellist David Geber (founder, American String Quartet) and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra artists. He has been featured as soloist at the 20^th Tokyo Summer Festival, the European Mozart Academy —performing throughout European capitals—, the St. Petersburg Palaces XIII. International Music Festival (Russia) and the VI. Festival Internacional de Música Clásica Contemporánea de Lima (Peru).

Espina Ruiz has recorded for the Bridge, Kobaltone and Prion labels, receiving high critical acclaim by fellow clarinetists Richard Stoltzman and Charles Neidich for his solo recording “Julián Menéndez Rediscovered.” Charles Neidich, with whom he studied in New York City for over ten years, calls Espina Ruiz “an unusually gifted musician who has already made a mark in the musical world and is becoming one of the most distinguished clarinetists in the US.” Richard Stoltzman wrote: “Bravo! You are and have the kind of energy the music world needs.”

Espina Ruiz devotes much of his time to musical research. His work on Spanish Post-Romantic composer Julián Menéndez brought him the first prize of the International Clarinet Association Research Competition in 2006, later writing an article for the March 2007 issue of “The Clarinet” magazine, and led to the acquisition of one of Menéndez's clarinets by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for its Musical Instruments Galleries —currently on display at its permanent collection, including a photo and biography of Menéndez next to Benny Goodman's.

In an effort to bring important works and revisions into the clarinet repertoire, in 2003 Espina Ruiz performed the South American premiere of the original Copland Clarinet Concerto, reconstructed from the manuscripts at the Library of Congress, and his orchestrations and adaptations include Ravel's Sonate Posthume, works by Arriaga, Sarasate, Turina, Granados and Falla, and Menéndez's Clarinet Concerto No. 2.

He is deeply involved with the music of our time and has premiered works written for him by Chinese composers Ao, Hu and Chen, Spanish composers Bageneta and Villasol, French composer Gaigne and American composers Weymouth and Spinei.

Born in Bilbao, Spain, his first musical training came at an early age performing on Basque folk instruments. He later pursued the traditional conservatory training as a clarinetist and often performed with the Bilbao Symphony, as its youngest member, at age sixteen. He came to New York City in 1991 to further his studies in clarinet and won the top clarinet prizes at the Olga Koussevitzky and Artists International competitions.

He holds a Doctor in Musical Arts diploma from Stony Brook University and a Master in Fine Arts diploma from Purchase College Conservatory of Music, where his major teachers were Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima. He has also studied with flutist Aurèle Nicolet while at the European Mozart Academy.

Oskar Espina Ruiz currently holds a clarinet faculty position at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, in San Juan, PR, maintains a clarinet studio at Bloomingdale School of Music in New York City and is artistic director of the Treetops Chamber Music Society, in Stamford, CT, while keeping a busy concert schedule.

1/26/2010

Oskar Espina Ruiz at Treetops CMS

Pianist Noriko Nagasawa has performed extensively as a soloist after winning Artists International's Special Presentation Award. She gave a recital at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall during the 1998 season receiving highest critical acclaim. In 1999, she offered her second recital at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, presented by Artists International as an Alumnus-Winner. Her concerto appearances include the Asunción Symphony in Paraguay.

Since 2001 she performs as a colaborator with Clarinetist Oskar Espina Ruiz in the United States, Europe and Asia. As a founding member of Ernach Trio, she has toured Spain every year since 1994 and, in 2000, she recorded a CD for Prion.

Since 2000 her programs have opened up to the Spanish repertoire, both for solo piano as well as accompanying Clarinetist Oskar Espina Ruiz. A direct result of this work is the double CD Julián Menéndez Rediscovered and her first solo CD, Spanish Rhapsody, both of them released by Kobaltone in 2003 and 2004.

Since 1995, she has been on the faculty of The Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division, teaching piano and technique of music.

Noriko Nagasawa at Treetops CMS

Soloists Oskar Espina Ruiz, clarinet, and Noriko Nagasawa, piano, first appeared as a duo in 1994 in New York. Since then, they have performed recitals at major cities in the United States, Spain and Japan, including annual concerts in New York and Tokyo. Highlights from recent seasons include recitals at the Royal Superior Conservatory in Madrid, Yotsuya Kumin Hall in Tokyo, Katherine the Great Palace in St Petersburg, Pushkin Museum in Moscow and Teatro Nacional in Costa Rica. In 2003, the duo recorded the complete works for clarinet and piano by Julián Menéndez, the first ever monographic recording of his works.