Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa. The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States. A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals. In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

John Dowland’s “Time Stands Still”: A Renaissance Love Song

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An undercurrent of quiet melancholy runs throughout the songs of John Dowland (1563 – 1626), the English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer who was employed by the court of Christian IV of Denmark before returning to London to serve James I. The poet Richard Barnfield wrote that Dowland’s “heavenly touch upon the lute doth ravish human sense.” Dowland’s Time Stands Still, published in 1603 as part of The Third and Last Booke of …

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Takemitsu’s “I Hear the Water Dreaming”: An Impressionistic Concertante for Flute and Orchestra

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Dreamtime lies at the center of Australian aboriginal culture. A mythology dating back 60,000 years, it is a collection of stories involving the creation of the universe, the origin of life, and humanity’s role in the world. The stories are passed from one generation to another through music, art, and ceremony. It was a work of art—an aboriginal painting titled Water Dreaming from the desert region of Papunya in Western Australia—that formed …

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Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046: Festive Horn Calls

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Festive horn calls ring out from the opening measures of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major. Rousing and raucous, this is joyful music of the hunt. As the Netherlands Bach Society observes, On turning over the impressive title page of the ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos, two hunting horns immediately blare through the rest of the music – calling everyone to gather together! Bach deliberately lets the persistent horns disturb his music. …

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David Raksin’s “The Bad and the Beautiful” Suite: A Classic Film Score

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David Raksin (1912-2004) was widely regarded as the “Grandfather of Film Music.” He composed over 100 film scores and 300 television scores, including the iconic main theme of the 1944 film noir drama, Laura. Throughout Laura, the theme recurs as a haunting idée fixe as the protagonist, a detective investigating a murder, becomes increasingly obsessed with the victim. Born in Philadelphia, Raksin studied composition in Los Angeles with Arnold Schoenberg. One of his earliest …

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Haydn’s Symphony No. 103 in E-Flat Major: The “Drumroll”

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Franz Joseph Haydn’s twelve “London” Symphonies (Nos. 93-104) arrived at a thrilling moment in music history. It was the early 1790s, and the tumultuous effects of the American and French Revolutions were rippling through society. London’s Hanover Square Rooms reflected the birth of the modern public concert hall, and gave “architectural expression to the growing and powerful sacralization of music.” (Blanning, The Triumph of Music) After 30 happy years in the employment …

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Michael Torke’s “December”: Feelings, Impressions, and Memories

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Setting aside its evocative title, we can appreciate December, a 1995 work for string orchestra by American composer Michael Torke (b. 1961), as pure music. Developing from a single spirited motive seed, heard in the opening measures, December unfolds as a spirited contrapuntal conversation. At moments, its shifting bass line forms an ostinato, one of the oldest musical devices. We are reminded of the lush English string orchestra music of Vaughan Williams, Finzi, and Tippett. …

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Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”: Juraj Valčuha and the Houston Symphony

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Founded in 1913 by philanthropist Ima Hogg, the Houston Symphony has long been regarded as one of America’s major league orchestras. Its past music directors include Andrés Orozco-Estrada (2014–2022), Christoph Eschenbach (1988–1999), André Previn (1967–1969), John Barbirolli (1961–1967), and Leopold Stokowski (1955–1961). Stokowski and the Houston Symphony gave the American premiere of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905,” and made the first commercial recording of the work. On the recording, the …

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