Ruth Tumpalan
Violinist
Demonstrated poise, assurance, and confidence.
Philippine Star Newspaper
ABOUT
Ruth Tumpalan is a violinist and music educator originally from Manila, Philippines and is currently based in the greater New York City area. She recently won first place in the American Protege Piano and Strings International Competition where she was featured to perform as soloist in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. Aside from this, she was also a prize winner in the Concert Artists International Competition and in the New York International Concours where she was also awarded the New York State Assembly Award. She was formerly the Assistant Concertmaster of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (the Philippine’s national orchestra) and has won national and international grants and scholarships to attend music festivals such as Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and the Asian Youth Orchestra where she did two summers of concert tours to several cities in Asia such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Hanoi, among others.
With full scholarship and teaching assistantship, Ruth completed her masters degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she studied with Elizabeth Chang. In graduate school, she became part of the UMass Graduate Quartet and occasionally led the Opus One (a conductor-less orchestra) as concertmaster. For her undergraduate, she finished Bachelor of Music from the University of the Philippines with cum laude distinction, where she studied with Joseph Esmilla, Arturo Molina, and Sergio Esmilla.
Ruth has had the privilege of taking solo and chamber masterclasses/lessons from well known musicians such as Christoph Poppen, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Gilles Vonsattel, etc. She has also played with some of the great artists both in classical and popular music such as Wang Jian, Alban Gerhardt, Jaime Laredo, and Michael Buble. She has been invited to play for events for dignitaries and was also featured soloist by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the Manila Symphony. She has performed in key concert halls such as Carnegie Hall Perelman Stage, Lincoln Center, Tokyo Opera City, The Esplanade, and more.
Believing that music connects people regardless of background, Ruth promotes cultural diversity in her performances whether in a small community or in big concert halls. She has a violin-percussion duo with her husband, Cyd Tumpalan, is a regular faculty at the Lindeblad School of Music where she loves instilling the love of music and spreading culture through music to her students.
Awards
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New York Assemblyman Edward Braunstein Award
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1st place, American Protege Piano and Strings International Competition 2019
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2nd place, New York International Concours 2019
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Honorable Mention, Concert Artists International 2019
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3rd place, National Music Competition for Young Artists, 2008
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Harvest of Honors from Malacañang Palace and National Commission for Culture and the Arts
GALLERY

"Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul."
Johann Sebastian Bach

Upcoming Performances
June 9: American Protege Winners Concert
Carnegie Weill Recital Hall
New York, New York
June 15: New York International Concours
Bruno Walter Auditorium, Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 21, 22: Dvorak Piano Quintet with the Lindeblad Piano Quintet
Carnegie Weill Recital Hall
New York, New York
August 4: Filipino American Symphony Orchestra
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, California
February 26: Recital with pianist Hyun Jung Kim
Wayne Public Library
Wayne, New Jersey
Articles
Meet Filipino Violinist, Ruth Tumpalan
My Voice, My Violin
The Four Seasons
Of Sound Faith - An Interview with Violinist and Educator Ruth Tumpalan
Lindeblad School of Music Newsletter
Interview with faculty: Ruth Tumpalan
To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist."
Robert Schumann
