Eugenia Zukerman facts for kids

Eugenia Rich Zukerman (born September 25, 1944, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a famous American flutist, writer, and journalist. She is known around the world as a very talented flute player. Eugenia Zukerman has performed with many major orchestras and at big music festivals for more than thirty years. Since 1980, she has also been the Classical Music Correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, where she has told stories about hundreds of artists. She was also the Artistic Director of the well-known Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival from 2003 to 2010.

About Eugenia Zukerman

Early Life and Education

Eugenia Rich first studied English at Barnard College. But in 1964, she decided to follow her passion for music. She transferred to the Juilliard School to study the flute with Julius Baker. She finished her studies in 1966.

Family Life

Two years after graduating, in 1968, she married the famous violinist Pinchas Zukerman. They had two daughters together: Arianna Zukerman, who became an opera singer, and Natalia Zukerman, a blues and folk musician. Eugenia and Pinchas often performed music together until they divorced in 1985.

Eugenia's sister is Julie R. Ingelfinger. Julie is a doctor and a professor at Harvard Medical School. She also helps edit a major medical journal called the New England Journal of Medicine.

Eugenia Zukerman's Career

As a Performer

Eugenia Zukerman's career as a flutist began to shine in 1969. She performed at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy. In 1970, she won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. This important win led to her first big concert in New York City at Town Hall in 1971.

Music critics praised her performance, and soon she was invited to play concerts and recitals all over the world. She performed with many famous groups, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. From 1998, she was the Artistic Director of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. This festival now features three main orchestras: the Rochester Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.

As a Journalist and Writer

In 1980, Eugenia Zukerman joined CBS News Sunday Morning. She became their classical music correspondent, a job she still holds. She has also written articles for well-known magazines and newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Esquire, and Vogue.

She has also written two novels, Deceptive Cadence (published in 1981) and Taking the Heat (published in 1991). Eugenia Zukerman also edited a collection of essays called In My Mother's Closet (published in 2003). This book includes stories from successful women about their relationships with their mothers. Other famous people who wrote for the book include Renée Fleming, Carrie Fisher, Joy Behar, Judy Collins, Erica Jong, and Claire Bloom. This book was even featured in O, The Oprah Magazine in April 2003.

Eugenia Zukerman also co-wrote a non-fiction book with her sister, Julie Rich Inglefinger, M.D. The book, published in 1997, is about dealing with the side effects of certain medicines. It shares Eugenia's own experiences with medication she took when she was sick with a lung condition in 1995–1996.

In November 2019, Eugenia Zukerman shared that she was diagnosed with "cognitive difficulties," which means she was experiencing problems with her memory and thinking.