Our Music Director
Ruth H. Erbe is an active violinist, conductor and educator in the Northern Virginia area. She studied violin with Vernon Summers and Luis Haza of the National Symphony Orchestra and Herbert Greenberg of the Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. Ms. Erbe’s conducting credits include studies with Robert Page, Keith Lockhart, Anthony Maiello, Joel Lazar and Markand Thakar.
Ms. Erbe pursues an active freelance career and is a member of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in Hagerstown, Md. With the MSO, Ms. Erbe performed for many years under the baton of famed French horn instrumentalist and conductor Barry Tuckwell and currently for Elizabeth Schulze. She has performed concerts with the Richmond and Fairfax Symphony Orchestras, Washington Sinfonietta, Manassas Ballet as well as for many chamber ensembles and orchestras formed specifically for concerts, church services, weddings and other occasions.
In 2008, Ms. Erbe was appointed as the first music director and conductor of the Washington Metropolitan Concert Orchestra, serving through 2018. She successfully built the WMCO from a small string ensemble into a full symphony orchestra, and was instrumental in the development of hundreds of young musicians. As a youth growing up in the Northern Virginia area, Ms. Erbe performed in the Mount Vernon Junior Chamber Orchestra under the direction of National Symphony Orchestra principal bassist, H. Stevens Brewster. His orchestra was the precursor of the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra.
Ms. Erbe is music director and conductor for Ritorno a Musica, an adult chamber orchestra dedicated to the study and performance of great string literature. Founded in 2007 as The Annandale Strings, Ritorno a Musica presents free concerts to the public through area libraries in Northern Virginia. The ensemble provides an opportunity for players to return to the music of their youth; accomplished musicians to seek an opportunity to perform on a second instrument; composers to hear their works performed; musicians to work their way back from an injury and much more.
Ms. Erbe’s passion for music, her understanding of music-making from a player’s point of view and her comprehensive knowledge of the orchestral repertoire come through in her exciting and diverse programs. In addition, she serves as a devoted and enthusiastic advocate for music education for all ages.
Ms. Erbe graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance.