The musician comes from Bremen and studied the violoncello most recently with Ottomar Borwitzky at Berlin´s Karajan Academy. While still a student he was principal cellist in various orchestras, such as the European Youth Orchestra and the Lucerne and Aix-en-Provence Festival Orchestras. After several years in the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic, Thomas Ruge became section leader and subsequently deputy principal violoncellist in the Munich Philharmonic. Besides this, he also plays as principal cellist with the European Union Opera, with the Philharmonic String Soloists as well as with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Thomas Ruge is a member of the Gothoni Quartet and the Philharmonic String Trio and String Sextet in Munich. From 1989 to 1998 he participated in appearances of the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, and was also a founding member of the Nadolny Cello Quartet and the Mullova Ensemble. Thomas Ruge has won two ürizes from the Brahms Society. Since 2003 he has worked as a founding member of Claudio Abbado´s Lucerne Festival Orchestra.
