Julia Drukh
The German-Russian clarinetist Julia Drukh (born Yulia Drukh) is originally from St. Petersburg, where her musical journey began. In Germany, she studied with Wolfgang Meyer at the HfM Karlsruhe (Master’s degree in 2013) and subsequently completed her advanced studies with distinction under Norbert Kaiser at the HMDK Stuttgart (Master’s degree in 2018, Concert Exam / Soloist Class in 2020).
Since 2015, Julia Drukh has performed as an orchestral musician with various German orchestras. Among her engagements, she was an intern with the SWR Symphony Orchestra (2019/2020), held a temporary contract as deputy principal clarinetist with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra (2020/2021), worked as principal clarinetist with the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra (2021/2022), and as bass clarinetist with the Dortmund Philharmonic (2022/2023). Additionally, she participated in several projects with renowned symphony orchestras of the NDR, WDR, and SWR. In the 2023/2024 season, she was deputy principal clarinetist with the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, and since October 2024, she has been principal clarinetist with the Clara Schumann Philharmonic at Theater Plauen-Zwickau.
Julia Drukh has an impressive list of awards and prizes from her participation in numerous international competitions. Moreover, she was actively involved in the founding, organization, and execution of the “Timeless Music” festival in Karlsruhe (2015–2020), held a teaching position in New Music Practice at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts (2021–2022), and released her first solo album, Poesie der Luft, with the GENUIN music label (2023), which won the Grand Prix in the “Music & Stars Awards ’24” competition in 2024 as Best CD Performer.
Since 2021, sheet music of her clarinet arrangements has been published by the German CEFES C.F. Schmidt Musikverlag. Through her arrangements of works for her instrument, Julia Drukh actively contributes to expanding the clarinet repertoire and is among the few clarinetists who master both the German and French clarinet systems at an equally high level.