CIVIC ORCHESTRA OF CHICAGO
Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition Finals Naomi Woo conductor Sebastian Manning violin Cecilia O’Malley violin Gabriel Raviv cello Ella Wimbiscus cello
JAN 17 | 2:00
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PROGRAM Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 2:00
Civic Orchestra of Chicago Naomi Woo CONDUCTOR FINALISTS
Ella Wimbiscus CELLO Gabriel Raviv CELLO Cecilia O’Malley VIOLIN Sebastian Manning VIOLIN J. STRAUSS, JR.
Overture to Die Fledermaus
W E LCOME
Ansuk Jeong Chair of the Young Artists Competition Committee Lisa Flynn WFMT Program Host and Presenter Soloists perform alphabetically by last name of the composer.
DVOŘÁK
Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 Allegro
ELL A WIMBISCUS
KABALEVSKY
Cello Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 77 First Movement Cadenza Presto marcato G A B R I E L R AV I V
KORNGOLD
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 Moderato nobile
CECILIA O’MALLEY
TCHAIKOVSKY
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 Allegro molto moderato SEBASTIAN MANNING
I NT E RV I EW W I TH FI N A LISTS
Lisa Flynn WFMT Program Host and Presenter P R ES E N TATION OF AWA R D S
Elizabeth Stein League Member 2
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FINALISTS Ella Wimbiscus CELLO
Gabriel Raviv CELLO
Ella Wimbiscus, a fifteen-year-old cellist, is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a program for advanced pre-college musicians. She is a student of Hans Jensen. At age eight, Ella made her solo orchestral debut. She has performed with Sinfonia da Camara, the Oistrakh Symphony on two occasions, Kishwaukee Symphony, Highland Park Strings, Pfortzheim Kammerorchester in Germany, and Peoria Symphony, and she will perform with Fox Valley Symphony in January 2026. Ella has won prizes at the Popper International Competition in Hungary, Dotzauer International Competition in Germany, ENKOR International Music Competition, MTNA National Competition, Walgreens National Competition, DePaul National Competition, Sinfonia da Camera Competition, Kishwaukee Symphony Competition, Peoria Symphony Competition, Fox Valley Symphony Competition, and Chicago International Music Competition. As a winner of the 2025 Uttwil Masterkurse in Switzerland, she will perform with the Bodensee Philharmonia in June 2026. As an avid chamber musician, Ella was a semi-finalist at the 2025 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition with the Minela Piano Trio.
Cellist Gabriel Raviv, age seventeen, is a student of Tanya Carey and Hans Jorgen Jensen. Most recently, Gabriel was winner of the 2025 Northern Illinois University Sinfonia Concerto Competition, the 2025 DePaul Concerto Competition’s Duo Strings Division (together with Cecelia O’Malley), and the 2023 MTNA Illinois Senior Strings Competition. Other awards include those from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, multiple DePaul concerto festivals, the MTNA Illinois Junior String Division, the International Grande Competition, multiple Society of American Musicians competitions, and multiple Chinese Fine Arts Society music festivals. Gabriel has enjoyed exploring chamber music through the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy program and the Meadowmount School of Music, as well as orchestral repertoire with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he sat as a principal in the cello section. Gabriel is currently a proud member of the Valinor Trio, sponsored by Chicago’s New Music School and coached by Desirée Ruhstrat and Tanya Carey. Together with his brother, Eytan, Gabriel frequently performs as “Raviv,” a heavy metal cello duo.
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F I NA L ISTS
Cecilia O’Malley VIOLIN
Sebastian Manning VIOLIN
Violinist, cellist, and pianist Cecilia O’Malley is establishing herself as an accomplished performer among the nation’s top competitive young artists. As a soloist, she has collaborated with orchestras across the Midwest, including the South Dakota Symphony, the Minnesota Sinfonia, the Elmhurst Symphony, the Black Hills Symphony, the Oistrakh Symphony, the Lakeview Symphony, and the Highland Park Strings Orchestra. In April, she will perform Korngold’s Concerto with the Lincoln Symphony as its 2025–26 Young Artist. Cecilia has garnered awards from the Society of American Musicians, Rockford’s Young Artist Competition, Walgreen’s National Concerto Competition, Minnesota Orchestra’s YPSCA Competition, Confucius Fine Arts Competition, and the MTNA Competition. A passionate chamber musician, Cecilia was a bronze medalist in the 2025 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and a first prize winner in the Rembrandt Chamber Players Competition, the Glass City Chamber Competition, and Chicago’s National Chamber Competition. This spring, Cecilia will be featured on NPR’s From the Top as a 2025–26 fellowship nominee. Cecilia currently studies with Gerardo Ribeiro of Northwestern University on violin, Tanya Carey on cello, and Tatyana Stepanova on piano.
Sebastian Manning, age sixteen, is a scholarship fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, where he studies violin with Almita Vamos. Over the past few years, Sebastian has had the opportunity to perform in a variety of countries, including Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Belgium, Germany, and the United States. An avid chamber musician, he has played in various chamber ensembles. Last year, he was a member of the Hemingway Quartet at the Music Institute of Chicago, with whom he won the grand prize at the Barnett Chamber Music Competition and participated in the prestigious Fischoff Competition. Sebastian has had the privilege to take master classes with Christoph Wyneken, Barnabás Kelemen, Boris Brovtsyn, Rachel Barton Pine, Ida Kavafian, Martin Beaver, Robert Chen, and the Pacifica Quartet, among others. He has also studied with Bernhard Forck at the Eufonia Baroque Academy. He has been a scholarship recipient at the SoNoRo Interferențe Festival on three occasions, most recently in Montepulciano, Italy. In the summer of 2025, he participated in SoNoRo Musikland. In both festivals he had the opportunity to work with and perform alongside great musicians such as Diana Ketler, Alexandra Tîrșu, Răzvan Popovici, Frans Helmerson, Alissa Margulis, Justus Grimm, Tommaso Lonquich, and others.
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PROFILES Naomi Woo CONDUCTOR Canadian conductor Naomi Woo is gaining worldwide attention for her spirited dynamism and infectious musicality both on and off the podium. A widely sought-after symphonic and operatic conductor, Woo is currently in her second season as assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the 2025–26 season, Woo makes debuts with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and the Royal Ballet and Opera (Covent Garden). She also returns to Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, where she was artistic partner from 2023 to 2025, as well as to the Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, and City of London Sinfonia. A renowned advocate for contemporary music, she conducts the world premiere of Oliver Leith’s Garland at Bold Tendencies in London and leads a workshop for Huang Ruo’s upcoming opera, The Wedding Banquet, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. A passionate educator, Woo was the music director of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for its 2024 and 2025 seasons and is the former music director of El Sistema Winnipeg. As a pianist, she has led performances from the piano with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony, and others.
Naomi Woo holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She has also studied mathematics, philosophy, and music at Yale College, the Yale School of Music, and Université de Montréal.
Lisa Flynn WFMT PROGR AM HOST AND PRESENTER Lisa Flynn, lead host and midday announcer at WFMT, has been a voice for classical music in Chicago since 1991. Over the years, she has brought listeners closer to the world’s great performances, hosting broadcasts from Salzburg for Mozart’s 250th birthday anniversary, the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (2010 and 2015), and the acclaimed WFMT Opera Series. Before coming to Chicago, Lisa shared her passion for music on air in Columbus, Ohio, and Orlando, Florida. A graduate of the University of Central Florida with a degree in music, she continues to nurture her love for performance as an amateur chamber violinist.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago Since 1919, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago has been one of the nation’s premier orchestral training programs for emerging professionals. Benefiting from a unique alliance with the CS O.O RG
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PROFILES
world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic members refine their skills under the guidance of musicians of the CSO and Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur, as well as numerous guest artists who visit Symphony Center each season.
The Civic Orchestra is a signature program of the Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO. The Negaunee Music Institute shares the extraordinary musical resources of the CSO, creating connections to music for individuals and communities in Chicago and across the world.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Ken-David Masur Principal Conductor
The Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Chair
VIOLINS
Tricia Park Sage Chen Maria Paula Bernal Natalie Boberg Adam Davis Ebedit Fonseca Rose Haselhorst Hojung Christina Lee Mona Mierxiati Matthew Musachio Sean Qin Justine Jing Xin Teo* Yulia Watanabe-Price Lina Yamin Naomi Powers Keshav Srinivasan Evan Chen Jenny Choi* John Heo Ben Koenig Pavlo Kyryliuk June Lee Hobart Shi Mia Smith Jingjia Wang Abigail Yoon VIOLAS
Sanford Whatley Matthew Nowlan** Lucie Boyd Eugene Chin August DuBeau Elena Galentas Judy Huang Yat Chun Justin Pou Mason Spencer* Sava Velkoff*
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CELLOS
Krystian Chiu Ashley Ryoo David Caplan J Holzen* Buianto Lkhasaranov Nick Reeves Shun-Ming Yang BASSES
Walker Dean Albert Daschle Gisel Dominguez Jonathon Piccolo Jared Prokop Tony Sanfilippo Jr. Alexander Wallack FLUTES
Cierra Hall Isabel Evernham Daniel Fletcher PICCOLO
Daniel Fletcher OBOES
Orlando Salazar* Will Stevens Guillermo Ulloa ENGLISH HORN
Guillermo Ulloa CLARINETS
Henry Lazzaro Elizabeth Kapitaniuk Max Reese BASS CLARINET
Henry Lazzaro BASSOONS
William George Hannah Dickerson
CONTRABASSOON
Finn McCune
A LT O S A X O P H O N E
Philip Kleutgens HORNS
Emmett Conway Eden Stargardt* Erin Harrigan Micah Northam Katy Meffert TRUMPETS
Hamed Barbarji* Abner Wong Sean-David Whitworth TROMBONES
Arlo Hollander Dustin Nguyen BASS TROMBONE
Timothy Warner TUBA
Chrisjovan Masso TIMPA NI
Kyle Scully PERCUSSION
Alex Chao Tae McLoughlin George Tantchev HARP
Emily Reader C E L E S TA
Daniel Szefer LIBRARIAN
Andrew Wunrow * Civic Orchestra Fellow ** NMI Arts Administration Fellow
JUDGES P R E L I M I N A RY RO U N D: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2025
Brian Snow Associate Professor of Cello, Bowling Green State University Dr. Catharine Carroll Lees Professor of Viola, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music Timothy Lees Assistant Professor, Educator of Violin, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music F I N A L ROU N D: SATU R DAY, JA NUA RY 17, 2026
Wen-Lei Gu Associate Professor of Music, Lawrence University Charles Gray Professor of Music, St. Olaf’s College Dr. William Grubb Professor Emeritus of Cello, Butler University
FORMER WINNERS OF THE YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION 2011 Johannes Gray CELLO 2012 Kyle Jannak-Huang PI A NO 2013 Torin Bakke CL A RINE T 2014 Gallia Kastner V IOLIN 2015 Kimberly Han PI A NO 2016 Gregory Phifer M A RIMB A 2017 Maya Anjali Buchanan V IOLIN
C R A I N - M A L I N G F O U N D AT I O N C S O YO U NG A RTI ST S COMPE TITION COMMIT TE E
Sarah Good President of the League of the CSOA Ansuk Jeong Competition Chair Lizbeth Branch Camp Scholarship Chair Kathy Nordmeyer League Vice President of Education
2018 Yerin Yang PI A NO 2019 Rosie Wang FLU TE 2020 Isabella Brown V IOLIN 2022 Noah Kim PI A NO 2023 Esme Arias-Kim V IOLIN 2024 Jaden Teague-Núñez STEELPA N 2025 Jeremy Liu PI A NO
NEGAUNEE MUSIC INSTITUTE OF THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTR A A S S O C I AT I O N
Jonathan McCormick Managing Director Katy Clusen Associate Director, CSO for Kids Katherine Eaton Coordinator, School Partnerships Carol Kelleher Assistant, CSO for Kids Anna Perkins Orchestra Manager, Civic Orchestra of Chicago Zhiqian Wu Operations Coordinator, Civic Orchestra of Chicago Rachael Cohen Program Manager Charles Jones Program Assistant
L E A G U E O F T H E C H I C A G O S Y M P H O N Y O R C H E S T R A A S S O C I AT I O N
The mission of the League is to promote appreciation of symphonic music, to encourage a commitment to music education, and to raise funds for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers special thanks to all League volunteers, without whom this competition would not be possible.
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SPECIAL THANKS
We are grateful to the Crain-Maling Foundation as our title sponsor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Special thanks goes to Dr. Michael S. Maling, Chair & CEO, for his enduring support and continued generosity. Founded in 2007, the Crain-Maling Foundation supports innovation in education and
spiritual development, sponsorship of cultural events, and advances in medical research. Dr. Michael Maling Chair and CEO Mrs. Marissa Iancu Co-President and Secretary Mrs. Elise Williams Co-President and Treasurer Special thanks:
HISTORY OF THE CRAIN-MALING FOUNDATION CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION Beginning in 1920, young performers were selected by Frederick Stock, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s second music director and founder of the Civic Orchestra, to appear as soloists with the Orchestra. Violinist Anita Malkin was the first youth soloist. In 1967, the Louis Sudler Foundation established annual awards to be given at a competition sponsored by The Women’s Association of the CSOA. The young performers competed for prizes and the opportunity to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1975, the competition was divided into two categories: a senior division and a junior division (for ages fifteen years and younger). The name was changed in 1985 to the Illinois Young Performers Competition. These competitions were televised and sponsored by WTTW public television and Illinois Bell. The first televised competition was held May 8, 1985. After the 1993–94 season, the competition was discontinued.
Competitions were reestablished during the 1998–99 season and renamed the Youth Auditions, and have been supported by Beatrice G. Crain and Dr. Michael S. Maling since that time. They were presented by the League of the CSOA (formerly known as The Women’s Association of the CSOA). The first auditions were held for string players between the ages of twelve and fourteen. The next year, the auditions were offered for woodwinds, brass, and percussion, which opened the competition to young musicians representing every instrument in the orchestra. During the 2016–17 season, the CSO Youth Auditions were renamed the Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, which continues to be offered annually on a three-year instrumentation cycle, featuring strings, woodwinds/brass/percussion, and piano.