Born in Lithuania in 1990, Karolina Juodelyte, "who possesses a mature artistic style as well as technical brilliance" ("Westfälische Nachrichten", 2019), is one of the leading concert organists of her generation.
She first encountered music at the age of six when she entered the Ciurlionis Art School in Vilnius. Her first instrument was the piano. At the age of 12, she learned to play the organ with Vida Prekeryte. She initially studied organ (Gediminas Kviklys and Virginija Survilaitė) and musicology at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, as well as at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (Roman Summereder) and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Kari Jussila) as part of various exchange programs. She completed her master's degree and concert exam at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold with Prof. Martin Sander. She also obtained a bachelor's degree in church music there. In 2021, she completed her master's degree in church music at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Karolina Juodelyte has gained recognition through awards at international competitions. In 2011, she won the International Ciurlionis Competition in Vilnius and received six special prizes (best performance of works by M. K. Ciurlionis, best performance of the Fugue in B flat minor by M. K. Ciurlionis, most creative interpretation of contemporary music, most artistic performance, youngest finalist, opportunity to perform in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra). In 2012 she won third prize at the International L. Janacek Competition in Brno (Czech Republic). In 2014, she won a prize at the interpretation competition of the Alumni Association and the AStA of the Detmold University of Music. In the same year, she received a special prize for the best second round at the International Petr Eben Competition in Opava (Czech Republic). In 2015, she won 2nd place and a special prize for the best interpretation of a work by J. P. Sweelinck at the 9th International J. P. Sweelinck Organ Competition in Gdansk (Poland). In 2017, she was awarded 3rd place at the 1st International Organ Competition in Bialystok (Poland) and was a semi-finalist at the 8th International Organ Competition in Musashino-Tokyo (Japan). In 2019 she was a prizewinner at the 2nd International Organ Competition in Shanghai (China). In 2020 she was awarded 3rd place at the 8th International Franz Schmidt Organ Competition in Vienna (Austria).
Karolina Juodelyte has already played many concerts both as a soloist and as a chamber music performer at national and international festivals in Germany, Finland, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Russia, Italy, Croatia and the Czech Republic and attended master classes with renowned organists (G. Bovet, D. Roth, J. Tuma, H. Lucke, T. Jellema, D. Tagliente, S. Cherepanov, H. O. Ericsson, A. Frey, H. Vogel, L. van Doesselar and others). She performs with orchestras such as the Dresden Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, ORSO-Philharmoniker, Bielefelder Philharmoniker, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestergesellschaft Detmold, Magdeburger Philharmoniker, Kammerorchester Berliner Cappella, Kammersymphonie Berlin and Concertino Berlin.
At the end of 2020, she recorded the album "The Road to Silence" with contemporary Lithuanian organ music (MAMA Studios). Her CD with the recording of the Concerto for organ, violin and chamber orchestra by Lithuanian composer Julius Juzeliūnas together with the leading Lithuanian violinist Džeraldas Bidva, conductor Adrija Čepaitė and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (Odradek Records, 2018) was shortlisted for the 2019 Grammy Awards. She has recorded further albums with the Lithuanian String Quartet (Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, 2013) and opera singer Nora Petročenko ("MAMA Studios", 2016).
In 2019, she took part in a music video by director Darius Abaris, which was shown with live music by the Lithuanian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robertas Šervenikas on the occasion of Lithuania's Independence Day. In the same year, she performed at the Lithuanian Philharmonic together with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Sergey Krylov. In 2012 and 2013, she was thanked by the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite, and the Chairwoman of the Lithuanian Seimas, Irena Degutiene. She was a scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the Detmold University of Music and the A. Teopfer Foundation (Concerto Music Scholarship). From 2015 to 2017 she was organist and choir director at the Protestant Reformed Church in Detmold-Heiligenkirchen. From 2020 to 2021 Karolina Juodelyte was cantor at the Paulus-Gemeinde Berlin/Tempelhof. Since July 2022, she has been a church musician at the Holy Family Church in Lichterfelde (Berlin). She also teaches at the Vilnius University of Music and Drama.