​Hailed for her “intensive fire, sleepwalking assuredness, and deeply grounded musical personality,” violinist Desirée Ruhstrat has captivated audiences worldwide as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. She made her solo debut at age six in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall under Leon Stein and her professional debut at age twelve with Lukas Foss and the Milwaukee Symphony. Since then, she has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras including the Berlin Radio Symphony, Radio Suisse Romande, Göttingen Symphony, Philharmonia Da Camera, Symphonica Aguascalientes (Mexico), Colorado Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, Utah Symphony, Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles, and the National Repertory Orchestra.

In the summer of 2024, she performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival.

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Ruhstrat has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Eric Kunzel, Max Rudolph, William Smith, Rico Saccani, Brian Priestman, JoAnn Falletta, Victoria Bond, Carolyn Kuan, Carl Topilow, and Mats Liljefors. Her artistry has been recognized with numerous awards, including first prize at the National Young Musicians Debut Competition in Los Angeles, where she also received a special award for extraordinary talent. She became the youngest prizewinner at Switzerland’s Tibor Varga International Competition, earning the award for best interpretation of the commissioned contemporary work, and went on to win top prizes at the Carl Flesch, Julius Stulberg, and Mozart Festival Violin Competitions.

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Alongside her solo career, Ruhstrat has distinguished herself as a chamber musician. She is a founding member of the twice GRAMMY-nominated Lincoln Trio, with performances at Carnegie Weil Hall, Lincoln Center, Ravinia Festival, the Indianapolis Symphony Beethoven Series, and Poisson Rouge, as well as a tour of Colombia performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia. The trio’s recordings include Trios from Our Homelands (2017 GRAMMY nomination) and Fantasies of Buenos Aires (2024 Latin GRAMMY nomination).

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In 2015, she co-founded the project based Black Oak Ensemble, whose debut album Silenced Voices (Cedille Records) was named to the Chicago Tribune’s Top 100 Recordings of 2019, FANFARE Magazine’s “Want List,” and WQXR’s Top 100 Best Classical Recordings of 2019. Their latest release, Avant l’orage, was nominated for a 2023 International Classical Music Award and reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts.

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She has also appeared as guest artist with the Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Music Series, Colorado Symphony, Apollo Chamber Ensemble, Colorado Chamber Players, Sebago-Long Lake Festival, and at universities including Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Northwestern. Collaborations include performances with Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ilya Kaler, Roberto Díaz, Roger Chase, Jorge Federico Osorio, Ani Kavafian, the Pacifica Quartet and members of  Vermeer, Orion, Borromeo, Brentano and Catalyst Quartets.  Festival appearances include Aspen, Peninsula, Laurel Festival of the Arts, Breckenridge, Green Lake, Utah Music Festival, ARIA International Summer Academy, Curtis Institute Young Artist Program, Ascent International Music Festival, and the Heifetz Institute, where she is currently on faculty.

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A champion of new music, Ruhstrat has worked with leading composers including Carl Orff, George Crumb, William Bolcom, Jennifer Higdon, Shulamit Ran, Augusta Read Thomas, Joan Tower, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, and Laura Elise Schwendinger, who dedicated a movement to her in Violinists in My Life.

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Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ruhstrat began her studies at the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music with  Joan Rooney and went on to study with Betty Haag, Harold Wippler, and Josef Gingold. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with the legendary violinist Aaron Rosand.

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Her discography includes the Stamitz Duo for Violin and Viola (Centaur Records), the Ravel Duo for Violin and Cello (Albany Records), the GRAMMY-nominated NAXOS release Annelies (based on the Diary of Anne Frank), and multiple recordings with the GRAMMY and LATIN GRAMMY nominated Lincoln Trio and Black Oak Ensemble.

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As an educator, Ruhstrat’s students have won national and international competitions and hold positions in professional orchestras worldwide. She has served on the faculty of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and currently teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. In 2014, she received the American String Teachers Association Illinois Outstanding Studio Teacher Award.

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Ruhstrat performs on a 1685 Goffredo Cappa violin, generously on loan.

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