Kyle Ryu is an aspiring eleventh-grade cellist attending Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA. He began his cello studies at the age of ten through his elementary school’s strings program. When he’s not playing the cello, he enjoys exercising and spending time with his friends. Kyle dreams of pursuing a career in cello performance and STEM.

Throughout his years of study, Kyle has advanced to the final round of many competitions and won top prizes in the NVMTA Concerto Competition, Metropolitan Music Festivals, and the state division for the OPUS Competition. He is also a recipient of NPR’s From the Top “Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award,” consisting of a $10,000 scholarship to further enhance his musical studies, and will be featured on NPR’s From the Top radio broadcast in January 2023. He has received the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award for an accumulated 250+ hours of community service from playing music at nursing homes, and is a recipient of the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF) Scholarship and The Korea Times-Texas Donuts Scholarship.

Kyle has also led and achieved high seatings in Virginia’s Northern Senior Regional Orchestra and the All-VA Orchestra. During the summers, Kyle has attended the AYPO Summer Strings Academy, Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival, working with world-renowned pedagogues Steven Doane and Paul Katz. This summer, he has been invited to join the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) for their North America tour during their 2023 season. He will be working with the finest young musicians throughout the country to prepare a tour throughout Canada and the United States from coast to coast, starting with a performance at Carnegie Hall before embarking on their tour starting in Massachusetts and ending in San Diego, California.

Kyle currently studies under NSO Principal Cellist, David Hardy, through the National Symphony Orchestra’s (NSO) Youth Fellowship Program, a program in which selected students may receive free private instruction from an NSO musician, participate in chamber music coached by one of their musicians, observe their rehearsals, rehearse side-by-side with them, meet world-renown guest artists/conductors, receive masterclasses and workshops in preparation for future studies, perform for a jury every semester, and be offered complimentary tickets to see them perform regularly.

He is a member of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO) and the Robinson Philharmonic Orchestra. His chamber music experience includes the AYPO Chamber Ensemble Program coached by The Ensemble da Camera of Washington, and the NSO Youth Fellowship’s Chamber Program coached by NSO harpist, Adriana Horne and NSO cellist, Loewi Lin. He has received masterclasses from Alan Harris, Paul Katz, David Ying, and Zuill Bailey. His inspirations include Jacqueline du Pré, Pablo Ferrandez, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.