Judith Glyde playing cello in Italy
Photo by Giacomo Checcucci, Certaldo, Italy

Judith Glyde, originally from Toronto, Canada, studied with Bernard Greenhouse at the Hartt School in Hartford, CT., and in New York City at the Manhattan School of Music. A founding member of the Manhattan String Quartet in 1970, the quartet performed over 80 concerts a year, appearing throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, the former Soviet Union, and South America. The Quartet’s discography includes 25 recordings for the labels Naxos, Sony, Koch, Newport Classics, and Centaur Records, including six ESS.A.Y. discs featuring the 15 string quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich, the first recording of the complete cycle by an American quartet. Of the cycle, TIME magazine wrote, “One of the most important musical events of 1991.”

From 1992, the professor of cello and chamber music and Chair of the String faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder, she performed as teacher and guest artist with festivals including the Fairbanks (AK) Summer Arts Festival, the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival (IT), the Australian Chamber Music Festival in Townsville (AUS), and the Castleman Quartet Program. Judith was formerly Director of the Winterschool program of the ACMF and often presented pre-concert lectures for the Boulder Philharmonic and the CU Artists Series.

The Manhattan Quartet on the banks of the Neva River, Leningrad
The Manhattan Quartet on the banks of the Neva River, Leningrad, 1986. Photo by Roy Lewis and Maggie Speier. From left: John Dexter, Eric Lewis, Judith Glyde, Roy Lewis.

In 2014, after retiring from the university, she moved to Florence, Italy to perform and to investigate a new interest in Renaissance History and Art. Judith was also integral, with pianist, Antonio Artese, in the establishment of a study abroad program for music students in Florence and Siena. In 2017, she moved to Greenwich Village, New York City to be near her son in Connecticut -- Jamie Lewis, a wonderful musician and Internet marketer. Judith is on the Boards of Forever Buffs NY (CU alumni) and the non-profit organization, Friends of Chigiana, the latter supporting the educational and cultural activities of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. In the spring of 2022, she was honored when presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Music, University of Colorado Boulder.

She has written numerous articles for Strings, American String Teacher, and The Strad (UK). “Under the Goddess of the Sky: A Journey Through Solitude, Bach, and the Himalayas,” is her first book. 

AWARDS

Best Addition to the Classical Music Scene, Best of Boulder - 1993
Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Colorado Boulder - 2014
Distinguished Service Award, University of Colorado Boulder College of Music - 2022

ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS

TRE in the Afternoon, with host Hannah Murray, Talk Radio Europe
July 2024

Cello Chat, with host Dr. Benjamin Whitcomb, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
June 2024

Bach in the Himalayas, CelloBello.org
July 2024

Practice Perfectly, Not Practice Makes Perfect, Strings
July 2012

Aria Project Shows Cellists Can Learn from Opera, Strings
March 2011

Improve Your Cello Spiccato Stroke in 3 Easy Steps, Strings
February 2010

The Strength of the Arch, American String Teacher
February 2009

Listen Up! Strings
August/September 2005

Quarter of a Legend, Violist Dénes Koromzay, The Strad
March 1997

Take Four: A Conversation with the Takács Quartet, Strings
May 2010

From Oppression to Expression: Interpreting the String Quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich, Strings
October 2002

SELECT REVIEWS

“One of the most important musical events of 1991.”
TIME Magazine in reference to MSQ's recording of the complete cycle of 15 Shostakovich Quartets

“A National Treasure,”
Michael Steinberg, Boston Globe

"Their Ravel was a mosaic of tone pictures painted with sensitive and refined strokes. Each successive movement seemed to surpass the last..”
San Francisco Chronicle

“The quartet produces an uncommonly sweet blend..arriving at performances that maintain an energetic thrust.”
The New York Times

"The concert was a great artistic achievement."
El Tiempo, Bogota

LISTEN