Rachel Naomi Kudo, First Prize winner of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig,
captivates audiences worldwide with her “heartfelt, courageous, and flawless playing” (Lübecker Nachrichten). Acclaimed as a “thrilling” artist of “exceptional artistic merit and meticulous precision,”
she brings to the stage a rare fusion of profound musical insight, poetic sensitivity, and commanding artistry.

About

Since her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Rachel has appeared at prestigious venues and festivals across Europe, Asia, and North America, including Bachfest Leipzig, the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Salle Cortot in Paris, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój, Denmark’s Tivoli Festival, Norway’s Bergen International Festival, and in the United States at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Weill Recital Hall, David Geffen Hall, and Alice Tully Hall.



Rachel’s accolades reflect a career marked by excellence and artistic commitment. A Gilmore Young Artist Award and Davidson Fellows Scholarship Laureate, she has received the Salon de Virtuosi Grant and scholarships from the National YoungArts Foundation and the Rohm Music Foundation. She was a top prizewinner in the U.S. National Chopin Piano Competition and a finalist at the International Chopin Piano Competition.


Born in Washington, D.C. to Japanese-Korean parents, Rachel began piano studies at age four with Emilio del Rosario at the Music Institute of Chicago. After early years in Japan, she returned to the U.S., cultivating her love for chamber music and playing violin in her high school orchestra. She studied with Kum-Sing Lee in Vancouver and was featured on NPR’s From the Top.

Woman in a red dress playing a black grand piano with a theater backdrop.

Rachel earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at The Juilliard School under Yoheved Kaplinsky and Joseph Kalichstein, where she was awarded the Arthur Rubinstein Prize, the Chopin Prize, and the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund. A two-time First Prize winner of the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition at Juilliard, she later pursued further studies with Richard Goode at Mannes School of Music and earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Gilbert Kalish at Stony Brook University. Rachel also studied with the legendary Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Her artistic development has been shaped through master classes with Robert Levin, Emanuel Ax, and András Schiff at Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshops, and through residencies at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar, the Perlman Music Program, Music@Menlo, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Encounters.

A passionate advocate for music’s transformative power, Rachel brings the same expressive clarity to her public speaking as she does to her performances. She has served as livestream host for the International Chopin Piano Competition 2021 and the International Chopin Piano Competition 2025 in Warsaw, and has also hosted the Cliburn Junior Piano Competition and the U.S. National Piano Competition, helping global audiences connect with the artistry of young musicians. In 2021, she premiered Suite à l’ancienne by Marc-André Hamelin, commissioned by the Gilmore Piano Festival. Most recently, in January 2025, she served on the jury of the National Chopin Piano Competition of the United States.