LEE RUDA [이루다] is a uniquely named Korean musician, a name created by her father that she has truly embodied through her artistry. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ruda made her concerto debut at age six as the youngest winner of the World Symphony Orchestra Competition, marking the beginning of her journey in understanding music as a powerful medium for connection and expression. At twelve, she received the Seoul President’s Award for her first composer-performer project. Following her early triumphs, she swept top prizes at major national competitions, including the Strad Magazine Award, Music Journal Competition, KCO Competition, Music Education Newspaper Competition, Korea Mozart Competition, and Young Soloist Competition. Ruda has performed internationally with acclaim, including a winner recital at Carnegie Weill Hall in 2014 and a performance at the J.F. Kennedy Center Honors Gala in 2015 alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank, with President Obama in the audience, which was nationally televised in the United States.

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A full scholarship recipient at Yale University School of Music, Ruda served as a co- concertmaster of Yale Philharmonia and toured with John Adams at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. She has appeared under the batons of conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Krzysztof Penderecki, Peter Oundjian, Andris Nelsons, and collaborated with artists including Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Igor Ozim, Syoko Aki, Cho-Liang Lin, Lynn Harrel, and members of the Emerson, Brantano and Tokyo String Quartet. Ruda performs worldwide as a versatile soloist and chamber musician at prestigious festivals including Tanglewood, Kronberg, Norfolk, PyeongChang, Tongyeong, Venezia, Russia, Taipei, Singapore, and Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival and Arts Festival. At the 2023 Vivaldi Festival in Italy, Ruda performed all four Vivaldi concertos in one program to great acclaim. She frequently shares her original and arranged works, including her arrangement of the Korean folk song Arirang, featured as an encore during the 2016 Chungpodo project, where she and three Yale violinist friends performed Bach’s Six Sonatas and Partitas at historically significant Korean venues.

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​While at Yale, Ruda served as a teaching assistant in the East Asian Language and Literature department, exploring the deep connections between music and language. Growing up surrounded by musicians, she developed a profound emotional connection to sound and aims to create transformative musical experiences for students and audiences alike. Since 2023, she has been Artistic Director of Young Virtuosi and Virtuoso Fiesta, two organizations reimagining performance and inspiring the next generation. In November 2025, following two full-house concerts in Hong Kong, she brings her Four Seasons: A Journey of 1725–2025 to Carnegie Zankel Hall, serving as both producer and soloist, with support from the government partners. Alongside her recent album My Home (2025), she continues to share her journey of connecting cultures and audiences around the world through the universal language of music. 

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When Ruda isn’t playing the violin, she is riding the waves. The delicate balance required in wake-surfing and the dynamic nature of the waves are very similar to violin playing. The key is to relax and fully feel the movement until the waves pass—this is a philosophy she carries through her life.