Roger Ruggeri’s, career spans a gamut of musical roles, including performer, teacher, composer, program annotator, and volunteer leader for several local musical organizations. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, he began performing with the Rochester Philharmonic and Dallas Symphony prior to joining the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 1962. A year later, Ruggeri became MSO Principal Double Bassist and served in that position until retiring in 2005; although no longer principal, he continues to play in the orchestra’s bass section. Since the early 1960’s, he has also been active as a teacher and lecturer, holding positions at Southern Methodist University, UW – Madison and UWM. As both a soloist and a composer, Ruggeri has been featured with many organizations, including the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the Grand Teton Music Festival, which he has performed with for more than 35 years. He has become recognized as an interpreter of contemporary music and his performances have been widely broadcast on radio and television. Ruggeri has composed dozens of pieces for various instruments and voice, including a double bass solo, Mythos, which he performed as a world premiere with Lukas Foss and the MSO. His output also includes transcriptions for double bass; orchestrations of double bass solos; and arrangements for various ensembles, such as his wind quintet version of Martinu’s Merry Christmas 1941, which is heard on classical music radio stations during the holiday season. Since becoming the MSO’s program annotator in 1968, Ruggeri has provided concert notes for major arts organizations throughout the country, and has served on the Liner Notes Panel for the Grammy Awards. In addition to performing, Ruggeri has also been a volunteer leader with local music organizations. Most recently, he was a board member for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, and is currently a Musician Representative to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Board, and member of the Executive Board of the Milwaukee musician’s union Local #8 AFM.