Natalia Paruz

Last updated
Natalia Paruz
Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz.jpg
Natalia Paruz
Background information
Also known asSaw Lady
Genres Classical, Contemporary, Pop
Occupation(s) Musical saw player
Busker
Bell Ringer
Instrument(s) Musical saw, handbells, cowbells
Labels Atlantic Records, Capitol Records, Universal Records
Website sawlady.com

Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz is a New York City-based musical saw player, bell ringer, busker and film maker. She was the founder and director of the annual Musical Saw Festival in New York City and ran it for 11 years. She also organized the musical saw festival in Israel. She was a columnist of the 'Saw Player News' and a judge at international musical saw competitions. She was also a judge for Music Under New York and for Little Island at Pier 55.

Contents

Paruz has played the musical saw on many film soundtracks [1] and can be seen as well as heard in the movie Dummy starring Adrien Brody. She has performed with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Zubin Mehta), the Westchester Philharmonic, [2] the Royal Air Moroccan Symphony Orchestra, the Amor Artis Orchestra, the Riverside Orchestra, the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra [3] and at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall with PDQ Bach composer Peter Schickele and with the Little Orchestra Society. November 2007 marked her Carnegie Hall debut as a musical saw soloist and June 2008 her Madison Square Garden debut. Her musical saw can be heard in many TV commercials. She has also appeared on numerous TV and radio programs around the world. Garrison Keillor of the Prairie Home Companion radio show has dubbed Natalia the show's 'official saw player'. As a studio musician, her musical saw has been recorded by labels such as Atlantic Records, Capitol Records, and Universal Records, for albums of composers such as John Hiatt and Elliot Goldenthal. She has played at festivals, such as the Spoleto Festival USA, the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, Utah Arts Festival, World Trade Center's Buskers Fair and at the Fingerlakes Chamber Music Festival.

Paruz often plays the musical saw in contemporary music, encouraging today's composers to write music for this instrument.

Paruz is considered to be the most knowledgeable about the history of the musical saw, and her own home is a pilgrimage place for saw enthusiasts and students.

The December 3, 2011 'Washington Post' crossword puzzle had Paruz as a question: "Down 5 - Instrument played by Natalia Paruz".

Along with her professional career, Paruz makes a point to also perform on the streets and subways as a busker. She has busked in the US, [4] Italy, Israel, Czech Republic, Poland and France. Paruz has also served as a judge at the Music Under New York auditions for subway musicians.

Paruz also plays a set of 65 pitched cowbells, English handbells, 4-in-hand hand bells, theremin and glass harp. She developed a bell ringing technique called 6-in-hand, and she performs as a musical historic interpreter of Colonial and Victorian times at places such as Historic Richmond Town.

Awards and honors

Paruz is a recipient of many awards, including:

Books mentioning Paruz

Movie soundtracks with musical saw by Paruz

YearTitleDirected ByNotes
2002 Dummy Greg Pritikinwith Adrien Brody
2006El Carnaval de Sodoma Arturo Ripstein Mexico
2008 I Sell the Dead Glenn McQuaid
2008American Carny Nick Basile
2008Bend & Bow Ted Fisher
2009The Heart Is a Drum MachineChristopher Pomerenke
2009Lullaby Ben Westbrook
2011 Another Earth Mike Cahill Searchlight Pictures
2012StringsTal Arbiv
2014 Time Out of Mind Oren Moverman with Richard Gere
2014Rhythm in MotionJenny Schweitzer
2015 The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst Andrew Jarecki HBO series
2015Caihong CityFlorina Titz
2015Subway: The SeriesVeronica Dang
2016 Miss Stevens Julia Hart
2016Naked-SpuriousGlenn English
2017 Amanda & Jack Go Glamping Brandon Dickerson
2019Scenes from the UndergroundEric Swiz
2020Lost cityMax Cea
2020Like a Wild PlantNatalia ParuzFinalist at Astoria Film Festival
2021Belleview Love Story Michael Wolfe (filmmaker)
2022For the Lost Children of ParisCarrie Robbins
2023While Mortals SleepNatalia ParuzAudience Award at Astoria Film Festival
2024 Megalopolis Francis Ford Coppola
2024 Joker: Folie à Deux Todd Phillips Warner Bros. Pictures
2025On the EndAri Selinger

Theater soundtracks with musical saw by Paruz

Discography

See also

References

  1. "list of films with Natalia Paruz on the musical saw"
  2. "New York Times article about Westchester philharmonic concert with Paruz"
  3. "New York Times article about Manhattan Chamber Orchestra concert with Paruz"
  4. "Underground Hits: Music in the Subways"
  5. "City Lights: Stories About New York"
  6. "New York Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff"
  7. "Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected"
  8. "120 Jobs that Won't Chain You to Your Desk"
  9. "album of Natalia Paruz on iTunes"
  10. "album of Natalia Paruz on iTunes"
  11. Playing on the Edge , retrieved 2020-10-05