SPCM Artists-in-Residence

SPCM Artists-in-Residence are faculty members selected to present concerts to the public and in local schools, furthering the SPCM’s goals to provide high quality musical education and performance to the public and to students.

2019–2020
Garret Ross and Ruth Marshall

Ruth & Garret have played together as Artu Duo since 2011, when Ruth needed a pianist for her graduate school recital and asked Garret to step in. They discovered how much they like playing music together, and how much they like each other, and their ensemble was born.

Since then, Ruth & Garret have grown as friends and evolved as musicians and collaborators. "We both experience very holistic lives as musicians," says Ruth. "What we do at our instruments connects deeply to what we do as people: as recreational athletes, as teachers, as consumers of other forms of arts, as travelers. And the two of us can always talk about those connections that we experience, and learn from one another." Garret affirms that "we always have something new to find in the music and to offer each other in rehearsal. In addition, we have become very close friends and have developed very similar philosophies when it comes to music and life."

Artu Duo has appeared across the United States, including a Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, as well as in Canada and the UK.

About Ruth

Ruth was destined to play the cello: with a mother who is a professional pianist and a violin-playing older sister, Ruth was born to be the cellist in their piano trio!

That destiny has lead her to studies at the University of Washington and to DePaul University, and to the principal cello chairs in the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and, beginning this coming season, in the Rochester Symphony Orchestra. The coming season also marks her fourth year as the cellist in the Mill City String Quartet. In addition, she has performed and appeared as a soloist across the country with a variety of orchestras and other ensembles. She also maintains an active teaching schedule, having held appointments at a variety of music camps and universities.

About Garret

Like Ruth, Garret's choice of instrument took inspiration from family members. His mother was teaching his sister to play the piano and, wanting to follow in his sister's footsteps, he, at age 5, begged his mother to teach him, too. At around the same time, he experienced his first memory of falling in love with classical music: he found cassette tapes of the Brandenburg Concertos, which he began listening to around the house on his family's Walkman.

Garret pursued his musical study at NYU's Steinhardt School and is currently attending the University of Minnesota in pursuit of his doctorate. He has performed across the country and has won competitions including the Mechelke Piano Award, the Bruce Carlson Memorial Scholarship Competition, and First Prizes in the Bethel University Concerto and Solo Performance Competitions. Garret is the founder and Artistic Director of The Apollo Chamber Music Festival in Houston, Minnesota, where Artu Duo is ensemble-in-residence.

Artu Duo’s Artists-in-Residence Activities

Wednesday, November 6, 2019
SPCM Coffee Concert

Friday, May 15, 2020
Artists-in-Residence Concert
Enjoy Artu Duo’s residency-culminating virtual concert here!

Rescheduled for November 12–15, 2020
Adult Chamber Music Workshop

2018-2019 Artists-in-Residence

Andrea Myers and Milena Petkvic

Learn more