Overview
Winner of the 2025 Eckhardt-Grammatté National Music Competition, Chinese-Canadian pianist Linda Ruan is passionate about sharing the potential of music to overcome boundaries across cultures. Since being introduced to the drums at age four and then the piano at age seven, music has remained a stabilizing force in her diverse childhood from Tokyo, Shanghai, to Vancouver. Her unconventional path from a young age broadened her horizons and cultivated a fascination for diverse cultures. Her curiosity guided her beyond her solo piano studies, expanding to music pedagogy, community engagement and a wide range of chamber music projects. Linda is a top prize winner in competitions including the Lancaster International Piano Competition, the Shean Piano and Strings Competition, and the Seattle International Piano Competition. She has performed in venues worldwide, from Carnegie’s Weill Hall and Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio to a recital tour in China spanning Guangzhou to Shanghai. Her piano duo La Fiammata is the second-prizewinner of the ARD International Music Competition 2021 and embarked on a Pan-Canadian Tour during the 2023-2024 season, a collaborative project between Atlantic Debut, Jeunesses Musicales Canada and Prairie Debut. Linda received her Bachelor of Music with Honours, Master of Music degrees, and Diploma in Music Performance from The Glenn Gould School, The Juilliard School, the Tianjin Juilliard School, and the University of British Columbia, respectively. Her past teachers include James Anagnoson, Hung-Kuan Chen, Corey Hamm, Xiao Li, Li Wang, and Xiaohan Wang. In the fall, she will begin her doctoral studies with Xak Bjerken at Cornell University. Visit www.lindaruan.com, www.instagram.com/lindaruanpiano to connect with Linda online.