İlayda Yılmaz started her musical education at the age of 5 with her father. She professionally started to play the clarinet when she was 12 at Bilkent University Music and Performing Arts Faculty in Ankara, working with Selen Özyıldırım. She continued her education there until graduating from bachelor's, with an exception of an ERASMUS course at the Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU) where she worked with professors such as Irvin Venys, Vlastimil Mares and Jan Mach. She actively participated in masterclasses of globally renowned musicians such as; Michel Arrignon, Fabio di Casola, François Benda, Michel Lethiec, Harri Maki, Charles Neidich, Pascal Moragues, Andreas Schablas, Christoffer Sundqvist, Shirley Brill and Kilian Herold. She performed in various orchestras both tutti and as the soloist both in Turkey and Spain. As an active chamber musician, she has won multiple prizes in Turkey with her chamber groups. She has performed in numerous concerts in both Turkey and various countries in Europe such as; Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Czechia and Spain. She has taken part in concerts with names such as Ivo Pogorelich, Anu Tali and Fazıl Say. She has taken part in festivals such as Young Euro Classic, Prague Clarinet Days and Clarimondo. In 2024, she started to play in the contemporary music collective Ensemble Şuh based in Berlin and Ankara. In 2025, she got her master's degree at Fundacio Conservatori Liceu in Barcelona working with Professor Isaac Rodriguez. She is currently in the class of Maestro François Benda, getting a second master's degree at Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano.