Sunday Morning Write: Eugene Drucker in Conversation with TNM Founder Shari Foos

About Guest Eugene Drucker:

Eugene Drucker is a founding member of the Emerson String Quartet and Music Director of the

Bach at New Year’s concerts for the Berkshire Bach Society. He has appeared as a solo violinist

with the orchestras of Montreal, Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, Hartford, Richmond, Omaha,

Jerusalem, and the Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as with the American Symphony Orchestra,

the Aspen Chamber Symphony, and the Las Vegas Philharmonic. A graduate of Columbia

University and the Juilliard School, he served for two years as concertmaster of the Juilliard

Orchestra, which featured him several times as soloist. He made his New York debut as a

Concert Artists Guild winner in the fall of 1976, after winning prizes at the Montreal

Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He has recorded the complete

unaccompanied works of Bach (Parnassus Records), the complete sonatas and duos of Bartók

(Biddulph Recordings), and (with the Emerson Quartet) works ranging from Bach and Haydn to

contemporary repertoire, mostly for Deutsche Grammophon. A nine-time Grammy and three-

time Gramophone Classical Music Award winner, he is Visiting Professor of Chamber Music at

Stony Brook University.

In 2008, his setting of four Shakespeare sonnets was premiered by baritone Andrew Nolen and

the Escher String Quartet. The songs later appeared on the two-CD release Stony Brook

Soundings, issued by Bridge Recordings. Additional compositions include Madness and the

Death of Ophelia, based on four scenes from Hamlet; At the Edge of the Cliff, a setting of five

poems by Denise Levertov for soprano and string quartet; and Series of Twelve, a string quartet

commissioned by the New Music for Strings Festival, which premiered in Copenhagen and

Reykjavík in August 2018 and was subsequently performed in the US by the Escher Quartet. Mr.

Drucker’s first novel, The Savior, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007 and subsequently

appeared in a German translation called Wintersonate. A second novel, Yearning, was

published in the fall of 2021. Recently completed projects include a novelization of Hamlet, a

second song cycle based on the work of Denise Levertov, and a setting of Lucy Miller Murray’s

Of Troubled Times, featured on the Musica Solis album Turning into Song. While teaching at

Stony Brook and the Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Drucker will continue to appear as a

chamber music player and soloist, hoping to find inspiration for further creative endeavors.

Though far from retirement, he anticipates a more relaxed schedule, which will allow him to

enjoy family life at greater leisure with his wife, Roberta Cooper.

How It Works (1-hour Sessions):

INTRODUCTION & INSPIRATION

• A TNM facilitator sets up the session, including the TNM Core Concept of the week, a photo and a prompt.

WRITING: 21 Minutes

• Along with the photo you'll get the first prompt (7 minutes to write).
• Next, you'll get a second prompt to weave into your piece (7 minutes to write).
• Then it is time to edit into a maximum of 1 page or 500 words (7 minutes to write).

BREAKOUT GROUPS: 14 Minutes

• After the writing, you are randomly assigned to small breakout groups with 3-4 other participants.
• Everyone takes turns reading their piece without stopping for conversation or feedback. Simple acknowledgements such as "thank you for sharing" are welcome. While each person shares, focus on witnessing without judgement.
• After everyone has shared, feel free to discuss your process, the concept and prompt, or share about something else that's going on with you that may be relevant to the TNM experience. Speak for yourself only and refrain from giving advice or asking probing questions.
• NOTE: If someone in your group shares something deeply personal and may be in distress, please ask them if they are okay in this moment and don't hesitate to send a direct message to the TNM facilitator.

GROUP SHARE:

• In the final minutes, the group comes together to share their thoughts about their experience, answer questions, go deeper and have fun!

 Salon Guidelines:

MUTUAL RESPECT

Remain aware and conscientious of your choice of words and tone. Please do not ask personal questions or give advice. Hate speech or hurtful behavior, regardless of the context will not be tolerated and will lead to immediate removal from the session.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Confidentiality is essential. What is said in the group must stay here. We do not record these session and will not tolerate any recording, transcribing, repeating others' stories or otherwise infringing on the rights and privacy of others.

CAMERAS ON

To ensure that everyone feels comfortable sharing their stories and their feelings, we require everyone to have their cameras on during sessions, except while writing. If you do not comply you will be removed from the session.

LISTENING

When listening to others' stories, put yourself aside so you can hear others from their perspective, without your own assumptions getting in the way. Your job is only to witness each other with appreciation.