Founded in 1919 by Frederick Stock, second music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the Civic Orchestra of Chicago prepares emerging professional musicians for lives in music. Civic members participate in rigorous orchestral training, September through June each season, with Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur, musicians of the CSO, and some of today’s most luminary conductors including CSO Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti.
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From 2010 to 2019, Yo-Yo Ma was a leading mentor to Civic musicians and staff in his role as CSO Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and the programs and initiatives he established are integral to the Civic Orchestra curriculum today. Civic Orchestra musicians develop as exceptional orchestral players and engaged artists, cultivating their ability to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of music in the twenty-first century.
The importance of the Civic Orchestra’s role in Greater Chicago is underscored by its commitment to present concerts of the highest quality at no charge to the public. In addition to the critically acclaimed live concerts at Symphony Center, Civic Orchestra performances can be heard locally on WFMT (98.7 FM).
Civic musicians also expand their creative, professional, and artistic boundaries and reach diverse audiences through educational performances at Chicago Public Schools and a series of chamber concerts at various locations throughout the city including Chicago Park District field houses and the National Museum of Mexican Art.
To further expand its musician training, the Civic Orchestra launched the Civic Fellowship program in the 2013–14 season. Each year ten to fifteen Civic members are designated as Civic Fellows and participate in intensive leadership training that is designed to build and diversify their creative and professional skills.
The Civic Orchestra’s long history of presenting full orchestra performances free to the public includes annual concerts at the South Shore Cultural Center (in partnership with the South Shore Advisory Council) as well as numerous Chicago Public Schools. The Civic Orchestra is a signature program of the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which offers a wide range of education and community programs that engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages, incomes, and backgrounds each year, in Chicago and around the world.
Civic Orchestra 2022/23 Season Roster
VIOLINS
Kimberly Bill
Kristian Brusubardis
Hsuan Chen
Dylan Feldpausch*
Valentina Guillen Menesello
Robbie Herbst
Yu-Kun Hsiang
Ran Huo
Sungjoo Kang
Jonah Kartman
Hee Yeon Kim*
Kenichi Kiyama
Shin Lan
Gabriela Lara
Jesus Linarez
Liya Ma
Marian Antonette Mayuga*
Nelson Jose Mendoza Hernandez*
Emily Nardo
Kina Ono
Annie Pham
Crystal Qi
Laura Schafer
Hee Woo Seo
Subin Shin
Janani Sivakumar
Grace Walker
Matthew Weinberg
Diane Yang*
Rachel Arcega Orth
Jack Bogard
Jason Hurlbut
Natalie Koh
An-Chi Lin
Megan Pollon
Allison Taylor
Marissa Weston
VIOLAS
Stephanie Block
Kunjing Dai
Siyang Calvin Dai
Amanda Kellman
Aditi Prakash
Larissa Mapua
Pedro Mendez
Derrick Ware
Teddy Schenkman*
Josephine Stockwell
Yu-Ru Wu
Megan Yeung
Cordelia Brand
Devin Burgess
Ching Ting Chan
Santiago Del Castillo Aréchiga
Dominick Douglas
August DuBeau
Yulong Han
Po-Sung Huang
Carlos Raul Lozano Sanchez
Rachel Mossburg
CELLOS
Jaime An
Miles Link
Francisco Malespin*
Lidanys Graterol
Abigail Monroe
Lindsey Sharpe*
Haley Slaugh
Hana Takemoto
Charlotte Ullman
Annamarie Wellems
Chava Appiah
Samuel Boundy
William Cayanan
Alex Chambers-Ozasky
Su Rin Cho
Lize Dreyer
Jessamyn Fry
Keeon Guzman
J Holzen
Kimberly Jeong
Juedy Lee
Meghan Lyda
Robyn Neidhold
Amelia Smerz
BASSES
Nathan Beaver
Caleb Edwards
Benjamin Foerster
Bennett Norris
Hannah Novak
Jake Platt
Olivia Reyes
Victor Stahoviak
Nicholas Boettcher
Sam Craig
Matthew Daily
Leo Finan
Gilberto Guajardo
Christian Hales
Jintao He
Rachel Kost
Emily Krajewski
Shaun Rogers
Sam Shreves
Thiago Silva Correia
Zacherie Small
Noah Strevell
Huai-An Tseng
FLUTES
Aalia Hanif
Katarina Ignatovich
Alyssa Primeau
Madison Booth
Elissa Brown
Anatolia Evarkiou-Kaku
Priya Fink
Minseo Kim
Jarrett May
Bianca Morris
Julia Pyke
Yeji Shin
Anastasiya Squires
OBOES
James Jihyun Kim
Andrew Port*
Oliver Talukder
Katherine Bruns
Asako Furuoya
Samuel Waring
CLARINETS
Irina Chang
Antonio Garrasi
Daniel Solowey
Tyler Baillie
Allison Brandt
Benjamin Cruz
Alejandro Dergal
Emily Hancock
Elizabeth Kapitaniuk
Max Reese
Tania Villasuso Couceiro
Zihao Yang
BASSOONS
K. Mackenzie Brauns*
Liam Jackson
Seo Young (Michelle) Min
Edin Agamenoni
Carlos Clark
Oleksandr Kashlyuk
Nina Laube
Tsz Ho Liu
Matthew Melillo
Julia Paine
Andy Sledge
HORNS
Jacob Medina
Sylvia Denecke
Michael Stevens
Ryan Williamson
Nelson Ricardo Yovera Perez
Kristin Andlauer
Fernando Chapa
Blaine Dodson
Catherine Dowd
Molly Frederick
Samantha Hartsfield
Luoxian He
Asuncion Martínez
Adam Nelson
Phillip Palmore
Austin Ruff
Emily Schroeder
Thomas Vienna
Emily Whittaker
TRUMPETS
Ismael Cañizares Ortega
Joshua Harris
Isaac Hopkins
Michael Leavens
Matthew Beesmer
Joel Cantoran
Changhyun Cha
Cleon Chai
Quentin Erickson
Connor Holland
Charlie Jones
Dartagnan Stephen
Alexander Strawn
TROMBONES
Felix Regalado
Hugo Saavedra Arciniegas*
Cason Cloud
Alex Ertl
Matthew Ethier
William Fowler
Robert Hackl-Blumstein
Jaewoo Lee
Dane Magruder
Tiziano Mazzoleni
Nick Mihalich
Daniel Nakazono
Evelyn Proffit
John Robinson
Robyn Smith
Michael Stanton
Hanae Yoshida
BASS TROMBONES
Alexander Mullins
Harper Byrne
Brian Entwistle
Carter Woosley
TUBAS
Nick Collins
Benjamin Poirot
Zachariah Dietenberger
James Farley
Ferran Martinez Miquel
Alex Purdy
Alec Rich
Jacob Taitel
Tyler Woodbury
TIMPANI
David Miller
Dylan Brule
Jaime Cardenas
Thaddeus Chung
Tomas Leivestad
Ajay Wadhwani
PERCUSSION
Thaddeus Chung
Charlie Gillette
Jordan Berini
Dylan Brule
Samuel Johnson-Vrooman
George Tantchev
Yibing Wang
Matthew West
KEYBOARDS
Wenlin Cheng
Junhong Jiang
Hyejin Joo
Marissa Kerbel
Tyler Kivel
HARPS
Olivia Kim
Pui Hang Natalie Man
LIBRARIAN