“I’ve been coming to Miami since the early 1990s… Judy Drucker was one of my first presenters. I always have good memories of Miami, with Judy meeting me at the airport and taking me around the city. It’s a good friendship.”
“[Judy] Drucker virtually created the vibrant performing arts cultural scene in South Florida over which she reigns as supreme and indispensable diva.”
“When the history is written of South Florida’s dramatic climb out of its Cultural Wasteland status during the last quarter of the 20th century, the name Judy Drucker will feature prominently.”
“She’s one of those friends you seem to have known always… She breaks her back to make everything comfortable.”
“She’s really one of the grand impresarias… She’s an institution. She does it all with a great deal of flair.”
“(Judy Drucker) just keeps moving forward like a Sherman tank,” He said her positive influence on the city’s cultural life is immeasurable. “She accepts nothing less than a yes, and she is capable of pulling off minor miracles.”
“[Judy] also has a knack for identifying and presenting important emerging artists… She pushes for quality in whatever she does and that sets the standard”
WTMI (FM 93.1) will present its first Classic Citizen Award Friday morning to Miami impresaria Judy Drucker. “The award is intended to acknowledge someone who has added greatly to South Florida’s musical and cultural life”
“I love it. I think it’s fantastic. I’m so glad [Judy] is doing what she’s doing again, what she loves to do. She’s given so much to South Florida, not only in her capacity as impresario but her love for music and people, and that’s just wonderful to see her back in the driver’s seat… She is a breed that’s gone. When she comes and takes us to Joe’s Stone Crab, and people say ‘Judy, we’ve got a table for you,’ and there’s 400 people standing outside trying to get a table, well, that should tell you a lot.”
“The emptiness of Miami’s cultural landscape at the start of the ‘80s is hard to picture now. The Florida Grand Opera was the only professional local group, although the Friends of Chamber Music presented small ensembles, and Judy Drucker brought famous classical music artists to town. There were a handful of small, conventional museums. But for the most part, the arts in Miami in 1980 were amateur, occasional and exotic – a highfalutin oddity.”
“[Judy is] the brightest star in South Florida’s cultural life.”
“When you have Judy for a friend, you don’t need any others… [Drucker] has left a trail of friends instead of business relationships.”
“Irrepressible, irreplaceable, indomitable, inimitable. Impresaria par excellence. If South Florida did not have Judy Drucker we’d have to invent her. Rubinstein, Heifetz, Zukerman, Pavarotti, Domingo, Bartoli, Perlman, Price, Ailey, Watts, Baryshnikov. Who has not come here thanks to Judy Drucker?”
“Thanks to Judy, South Florida is now prime territory for the world’s greatest artists… Before [Judy] got into her wonderful activity, there was very little the Miami audience could go for. Artists of international stature didn’t come at all… She’s right on top of the emerging young artists of our time … What she has done is nothing less than heroic.”
“In a year that saw many national and international dance companies teetering on the brink of bankruptcy or even extinction, the South Florida dance scene remained an outpost of stability during 1995-96… And on the touring front, the quality – if not quantity – of visiting companies remained high, with Judy Drucker’s Concert Association presenting the season’s class act, Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project.”
“Charming, funny and very, very smart, [Judy] Drucker has cajoled the greatest musicians onto local stages, presenting a consistently stellar array of artists. If the batting average of local musical entities and presenting organizations often appears mixed, Drucker’s Concert Association of Florida can be counted on to lead the league each season. This past year alone Drucker has presented pianists Arcadi Volodos, Alicia de Larrocha, Yefim Bronfman and Vladimir Feltsman, violinists Itzhak Perlman, Maxim Vengerov and soprano Maria Guleghina, as well as the Barcelona Symphony, the Moscow Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Seattle Symphony, among others.”
“There are numerous … valuable musical organizations [in Fort Lauderdale] … the Concert Association of Florida (without Judy Drucker’s indomitable spirit and ear for quality, we’d still be in the dark ages here).”
“[Judy Drucker] put Miami on the big league culture map.”
“Judy Drucker: In almost four decades, the one-time singer has nurtured her Concert Association from what essentially was a housewife’s hobby — a temple cultural initiative — into one of the most influential performing-arts series in the country. She has brought us Tucker, Pavarotti, Domingo, Sills, Freni, Sutherland, Fleming, Bartoli, plus Stern, Zuckerman, the American Ballet Theater, Baryshnikov, Martha Graham. The list is as long as her arm and yours, too. Brava.”
“The Latin Quarter on Palm Island was very lush, owned by Lou Walters, Barbara Walters’s father. Judy Drucker appeared there once when she was very young, singing the quartet from Rigoletto, in this act she did with the Ziegfeld comedian Willy Howard, his brother Eugene, and a blond showgirl. Judy was the only real singer in the group; the rest of them did a parody of the song… Miami Beach was undoubtedly more glamorous then … The old publicity photos, the reminiscences of prominent local nightlife veterans… clothing designer and social pro Jay Anderson, publicist Charlie Cinnamon, photographer Ray Fisher, Rose McDaniel of Joe’s Stone Crab, Joseph Nevel of Wolfie’s, impresaria Judy Drucker …make it all come back again, strong and clear. And amid the mysterious workings of nostalgia, the past seems more compelling and, curiously, more alive than the present.”
“[Fort Lauderdale] owes Judy Drucker a debt of gratitude, high recognition (and generous donations) for her 40 years of raising the cultural bar in South Florida. Yes, we need our own first class symphony orchestra. But until then, we need what Judy Drucker brings us so we remember what world class performing arts are all about.”
“I’ve done many benefits for Judy… One concert (Judy’s 25th anniversary) I even performed in a trio with Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy, with the Royal Philharmonic. I do this because Judy is an old friend and the music she brings is very important.”
“(Evgeny Kissin) The Russian virtuoso’s performance Sunday afternoon at New World Center in Miami Beach marked the second and final event of concert promoter Judy Drucker’s reincarnated recital series, and it ended it in a blaze of keyboard fireworks, with multiple standing ovations and three encores… Kissin’s generosity with encores—a trait for which he is known—was exceeded by his personal generosity to his friend, Judy Drucker. As she announced at the beginning of the concert, Kissin was so glad to help Drucker restart her career that he waived his fee.”
“Judy has been a pioneer for more than 40 years bringing world-class talent to our community. Judy [is] one of the most important leaders in the development of Miami’s unique arts explosion.”
“Judy Drucker is a class act. Over a 40-year span, she brought some of the finest classical musicians and great orchestras of the world to South Florida, from Itzak Perlman to Luciano Pavarotti to the American Ballet Theatre. She did it with love, boundless energy and selfless dedication. And in so doing, Ms. Drucker put South Florida — once considered a cultural wasteland — on everybody’s cultural map… Our community is deeply appreciative of her many contributions and in awe of her vast achievements. For all that she has given, we say thanks to Ms. Drucker.”
“[Judy] has engendered a great deal of personal loyalty. She strains herself to the utmost to accommodate the needs and whims of the artist. If you want to have a meal, if you want to go somewhere, Judy will arrange it.”
“Miami audiences have had plenty of exposure to great orchestras, thanks to Judy Drucker’s culture machine that routinely brings in the world’s finest symphonic ensembles.”
Powerhouse producer, Judy Drucker, is a pioneer in shaping Miami’s cultural landscape.
“Amazing to think that what began 36 years ago as the Great Artists Series at Miami Beach’s Temple Beth Sholom has evolved into one of South Florida’s premier purveyors of classical music and dance. Founded and led by impresaria and onetime opera singer Judy Drucker, the Concert Association of Florida packs a two-county punch, filling the seats of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts with eager culture vultures by presenting the highest caliber of artists. Among the luminaries who have graced us with their presence just this past season: sopranos Kathleen Battle and Renée Fleming; violinist Itzhak Perlman; pianists Joseph Kalichstein, Evgeny Kissin, and Andre Watts; cellist Mstislav Rostropovich; and conductors Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic and Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. And that’s a just few names in the musical arena. Visiting dance companies have included Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. An outreach program wherein master musicians provide classes to local youngsters means that continuity of audience and players is somewhat assured. How to thank Drucker for zipping her aria-singing lips more than a generation ago and devoting herself to the cause of high culture in this town? A simple “Brava!” should suffice.”
“We’re becoming a cultural mecca, largely through Judy’s efforts.”
Powerhouse producer, Judy Drucker, is a pioneer in shaping Miami’s cultural landscape.
“I think it’s fantastic that we have somebody here who brings in these performers. It’s something we need. And it helps build an audience for us.”
“From 1967 to 1971, Zev Bufman and Judy Drucker laid the foundations for their theatrical and concert empires. The first fully professional regional theater companies were born in Dade and Broward, spawning the evolution to today`s multi-theater circuit… Presenters like Bufman, Drucker, Clyde Fyfe — and their pop counterparts, Jack Boyle of Cellar Door Concerts and Jon Stoll of Fantasma Productions — are at the peak of their form, importing the most celebrated performers and shows the world has to offer.”
“Judy Drucker is one of the major entrepreneur concert-presenters in the United States. Her great accomplishment is that, in a city that was never before considered a major musical center, she has built concert series on the same high level as Boston, Washington and New York.”
“Without Judy Drucker, South Florida’s stages may never have hosted international arts supernovas Luciano Pavarotti, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Beverly Sills. After 37 years of producing performances – beginning at Miami Beach’s Temple Beth Shalom and graduating to major venues across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties – Drucker has earned a reputation as a cultural champion.”
“Judy Drucker has made a significant difference in the cultural climate of South Florida. Back when some folks still called the Gold Coast a cultural boondocks, Drucker was coaxing the greatest stars in the world to our shores — Isaac Stern, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Twyla Tharp. And Drucker could coax the skin off a grape. She`s still going strong. You know what they say about her accomplishments? They say, ‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.'”
“The Temple [Beth Sholom] program, headed by [Judy] Drucker, planted the seeds for the nationally acclaimed Concert Association of Florida, the foremost presenter of classical music and dance in South Florida — including Pavarotti’s January history-making concert-on-the-beach that drew more than 200,000 people.”
“To live long enough to be able to book a season into Miami’s new Center for the Performing Arts. To call Pinky, Itzy, Vova and Slava (Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Mstislav Rostropovich) by their real names.”
“The era of the independent impresario with flair and personality like [Sol] Hurok is over. There are throwbacks, of course: Moe Septee in Philadelphia, Walter Pierce in Boston, Pat Hayes in Washington, D.C. And in South Florida there’s Judy Drucker of the Concert Association of Florida, who maintains warm, Hurok-style rapport with many of the artists she engages, from Luciano Pavarotti to Itzhak Perlman.”
“Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s recital at Dade County Auditorium was the opening salvo in what promises to be a mighty 25th anniversary season for the Concert Association of Florida. Leave it to association founder and director Judy Drucker to bring the hottest new singing sensation to the area before anyone else; this is the kind of event that cannot help but make you wonder where this community would be culturally without her flair for showmanship.”
“For nearly 20 years, Judy Drucker has been raising the level of artistic activity in South Florida, the expectations of audiences and the ire of various onlookiers. But even her most fervent detractors recognize the extraordinary role she has played in building an oasis in the so-called cultural desert. Starting with a humble speakers series at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Drucker soon expanded her operations to present a wide range of big-name musical and dance events, becoming in the process the undisputed ’empressario’ of Dade County.”
“Outstanding musical performances in South Florida have become an established tradition, thanks to the tireless efforts of a grand impresario named Judy Drucker. The world’s greatest performers now make regular appearances here, and attending their concerts can often be the highlight of one’s Florida vacation.”
“The greatest orchestral ensembles and musical superstars from around the globe have graced Miami and Ft. Lauderdale stages thanks to the Concert Association of Florida and its indefatigable director Judy Drucker. An extension of the concert series Drucker founded at Miami Beach’s Temple Beth Shalom, the Concert Association has presented a cornucopia of the true greats of the music world (both past and present) – Kissin, Horowitz, Stern, Perlman, Pavarotti, Domingo, Barenboim, Dutoit, Jarvi, Gergiev, Solti, Abbado Ax, Galway, Shaham, Ashkenazy, Bartoli. The list is endless! More than a few unforgettable musical nights have been under the auspices of the Concert Association!”
“A serious shout-out to a true lady: classical concert promoter Judy Drucker. She’s tough, savvy and she knows everyone.”
“Judy Drucker presented a magnificent concert with Evgeny Kissin as the finale to this year’s season of the Great Artists Series. Performing works by Beethoven and Chopin, Kissin was rewarded with shouts of “encore” and “bravo!” Following the concert, Sir Edward Porter and his daughter, Ms. Starr Porter, hosted a reception at their home for friends and supporters of the Great Artists Series. It was night to remember!”
“Ever wonder how superstars like Luciano Pavarotti, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo happen to entertain in Florida? Miami impresaria Judy Drucker is the motivating reason. Celebrating her 30th season of presenting Florida audiences with some of the worlds most critically acclaimed classical artists, Drucker is committed to the cultural education of the masses. Her Concert Association of Florida was responsible for bringing Pavarotti to Miami Beach two years ago, when 200,000 opera lovers watched the illustrious tenor perform in a first-ever beachfront concert. A native New Yorker who grew up in Miami Beach, Drucker has presented nearly every major symphony orchestra, solo artist and opera star on the international circuit.”
“The South Florida area is in debt to Judy for making Miami one of the top artistic and cultural cities in the country. Judy has definitely enriched South Florida through her efforts to bring some of the top performers in the world to Miami.”
“If anyone put South Florida on the classical map, it’s Judy Drucker, whose Concert Association of Florida consistently brings leading figures in music and dance to area stages.”
“Thanks for setting the musical pace!”
“The University of Miami has selected impresaria Judy Drucker as the recipient of the 1985-196 Distinguished Alumna Award of the UM School of Music. All must agree that Drucker deserves the awards hands down… In her establishment and leadership of the Temple Beth Sholom Great Artists Series, she has for years brought the greatest symphony orchestras, the finest conductors and most outstanding performing artists to appear on a regular basis for us. In addition to her position as cultural director of Temple Beth Sholom, President of the Concert Association of Greater Miami and guiding hand behind the Great Artists Series, in 1982 she inaugurated the Concert Association of Greater Miami’s Prestige Series and has promoted dance performances in our community.”
“(Judy) Drucker is becoming a glorious anachronism: an impresaria willing and able to haul in the glamour events.”
“Before the downtown arts center existed, Miami needed a highly motivated dynamo like Judy Drucker to present classical artists.”
“[Judy] Drucker is the musical Moses that liberated South Florida from artistic darkness.”
“It’s been a wonderful friendship, always seeing [Judy] bring the most incredible talent to South Florida. Not only here, but all over. She’s been an incredible force for classical music and bringing culture to countries and communities everywhere. She’s a wonderful person. She’s from Miami Beach and everybody loves her.”
“Cary Grant may never have said, “Judy, Judy, Judy” but just about every arts fan in South Florida has at one time or another. There is no way to miss the region`s reigning impresario, Judy Drucker. The initial motivation behind her enterprise was simple — she just couldn`t find enough culture in Miami Beach.”
“Thanks to an inspired idea that originated from a group of Dade County arts lovers — chiefly impresario Judy Drucker, State Rep. Barry Kutun and State Sen. Jack Gordon — a mechanism may be put into place that will help South Florida enter the mainstream of American cultural life… The idea is to double the occupational license tax in Dade and Broward counties, earmarking 50 percent of the new revenue for an economic development package aimed at attracting more businesses to the region and 50 percent for the support of a major symphony orchestra. South Florida has been associated solely with sun, sex, drugs, booze and crime for too long. A commitment to a noble cause is long overdue.”
“South Floridians owe [Judy] Drucker a lot. Because of the top talent she has brought year after year, people have become accustomed to the best…During Drucker’s era, South Florida has surpassed Philadelphia, the nation’s fifth largest city, in concert activity.”
“[I]f anyone can charm performers into Dade appearances, [Judy] Drucker can. She brought in people who would never have come here. Drucker’s Miami Beach office reflects her years with the stars. Dozens of autographed pictures, including opera star Luciano Pavarotti, Baryshnikov and Japanese cellist Yo Yo Ma, and numerous awards hang on the walls.”
“Judy Drucker is a pioneering arts impresaria who founded the Concert Association of Florida which stages everything from Broadway shows to Luciano Pavarotti concerts.”
“Judy Drucker, still aflutter from Monday’s opening night at the Metropolitan Opera (which brought together Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti on the 25th anniversary of their American debuts), proves more indefatigable by the day. First, she books Barcelona tenor Jose Carreras for a Feb. 5 songfest at the Knight Center. Then, she shows up at Thursday’s opening of Miami City Ballet with Anthony Russell Robbins, head of the Royal Ballet of Covent Garden. (Word has it that La Drucker’s planning a late April appearance by the ballet at the Kravis.)”
“Greater Miami Israel Bonds’ Woman of the Year is Judy Drucker. Drucker is being recognized for her efforts in making the South Florida area one of the top artistic and cultural centers of the United States through her position as president of the Concert Association of Greater Miami. In addition, she has supported the State of Israel through Israel Bonds for more than 30 years. Drucker has participated at many Israel Bond functions that generated more than $1 million.”
“Judy Drucker and the Concert Association of Florida had a stellar year presenting Lang Lang, the Cleveland Orchestra and Barenboim. Drucker surpassed herself by closing 2006 with an impassioned, riveting Il Trovatore with Maria Guleghina and Salvatore Licitra.”
(“The ovation was logically long and enthusiastic, so the pianist agreed to give (and stating that the whole show was a gift to the Great Artists Series and its president, the legendary Judy Drucker), one after the other three encores, one Mazurka of Chopin, Six variations, Beethoven (where he exhibited his talent for comedy) and finally the caricatural March of the love for three oranges, Prokofiev.Ante the incessant ovation from an audience that did not want to let she left, the ever young pianist was very pleased, but there was more than a encores.Es as special as anyone can fill Kissin art.”)“La ovación fue lógicamente larga y entusiasta, por lo que el pianista accedió a regalar (y que conste que todo el recital fue un obsequio a la Great Artists Series y su presidenta, la legendaria Judy Drucker ), uno tras otro tres encores, una Mazurka, de Chopin, las Seis variaciones, de Beethoven (donde expuso su talento para lo cómico) y por último, la caricaturesca Marcha de El amor por tres naranjas, de Prokofiev.Ante la ovación incesante de un público que no quería dejar que se marchara, el siempre joven pianista se mostró muy complacido, pero no hubo más encores.Es que de un arte tan especial como el de Kissin nadie puede saciarse.”
“[F]our venerable resident arts institutions — the Miami City Ballet, Florida Grand Opera, Judy Drucker’s Concert Association and the New World Symphony — will have a permanent home in [the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts] an architectural landmark. The place itself and the artists who will perform there will give us moments of transcendence that momentarily vanquish what the poet Wallace Stevens called “the malady of the quotidian.” Faith can also do that as can excess and denial — drugs and asceticism. But it is art that most reliably lifts us out of and above deadening routines and responsibilities of everyday life.”
“‘I used to criticize Judy because she would bring so many of the same artists year after year. But I can’t say that anymore,'” – Ivan Davis, classical pianist and opera connoisseur who appears on the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday afternoon quiz programs and has accompanied Joan Sutherland and Renata Scotto in song recitals. “He is delighted that Drucker is bringing Cecilia Bartoli, Cheryl Studer, Jessye Norman and Kiri Te Kanawa, as well as other top sopranos, to South Florida. And he is even happier that Miami has developed musically.”
“Sometimes she acts like a diva herself. She has a typical artistic temperament, but she also has a passion for her work, for music.”
“By the time megastars [Pavarotti-Perlman-Ashkenazy] left the stage, they knew they were loved in Miami. Especially by [Judy] Drucker. She would knight all three of them if only she could. She would give them titles.( Prince Pavarotti? Earl Perlman? Count Ashkenazy? Why not? They`re top royalty in the performing arts.) They performed this night because of their affection for Drucker. (The event made about $450,000, and $25,000 of it went to the [Hurricane] Andrew relief cause, We Will Rebuild.)”
“The Pavarotti-Perlman-Ashkenazy Trio made its world debut at Dade County Auditorium on Monday night performing Paolo Tosti’s Ideale as the climax of a gleaming concert that should remain indelible for the Concert Association of Florida and the happy audience that packed Dade County Auditorium. We have heard each star individually in South Florida before, but never together. The last time Judy Drucker managed something quite so spectacular was a Sunday in 1979, when she booked Vladimir Horowitz in the afternoon and Isaac Stern at night — and served her audience chicken dinner between concerts… [This] was a memorable concert as well as an occasion — one that raised both the temperature of its audience and a good deal of money for the Concert Association of Florida and We Will Rebuild.” – referring to the Hurricane Andrew Relief cause,”We Will Rebuild”
“The cheering crowd might have offered one more ovation for Concert Association president Judy Drucker, who satisfied vocal fans with no less than four mighty sopranos this season — preceding [Jessye] Norman were Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle and Eva Marton. We should be so lucky every year.”
“And, oh yes, let’s not forget the Florida Grand Opera (former Greater Miami Opera) and all those stellar divas and 10 orchestras Judy Drucker’s Concert Association of Florida brought to Greater Miami last season. This is more touring orchestras than Chicago or Philadelphia offered its visitors. Perhaps South Florida’s classical music scene deserves a press kit all its own.”
“When Luciano Pavarotti made his American debut in Miami in 1965, one of the voices in the Greater Miami Opera chorus behind him was that of a soprano named Judy Drucker. When Pavarotti is here next August on his Silver Jubilee tour, marking 25 years since his Italian debut in Modena, the program will be produced by Drucker. It just shows you’d better be nice to the girls in the chorus.”
“I first met Judy in 1965 and I still love her.”
“It goes back to 1965 when I made my debut in the States. I think we are very good friends, which is the most important thing in the business of opera. Me as a singer and [Judy] as a producer, we have stayed together, really, for life. She’s a great lady. I’m very proud to be friends with her.”
“Judith Drucker: The impresario of the Concert Association of Greater Miami who put Miami on the arts map.”
“Judy Drucker, A Woman of Valor whose Dedication and Inspiration touched our lives with the greatest gift – Humanity Through the Arts. – With Love, Brandeis University National Women’s Committee.”
“Leave it to Judy Drucker to attempt the impossible. Following the Concert Association of Florida’s acclaimed semi-staged performances of Bellini’s Norma in 2004, Drucker is bringing back its two stars — Maria Guleghina and Salvatore Licitra, above — for a pair of Trovatore concert performances.”
“Judy Drucker’s role in the cultural scene of South Florida has been compared to that of Beverly Sills when she headed the Lincoln Center in New York City. Judy quite literally created that scene through her decades of entrepreneurial management of the Concert Association of South Florida.”
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