Originally from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Gabriela Lara began her violin studies at age 8 and later became a member of the Latin American Violin Academy, where she was a student of Jose Francisco del Castillo and Francisco Diaz. She was also a member of El Sistema in Venezuela and, as part of that ensemble, had the opportunity to make a 2014 Europe Tour with the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra. She also performed with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra as part of a 2016 European tour that included a concert at the Berliner Philharmonie and performed with Sir Simon Rattle as part of a tour that included concerts at the Salzburg Festival.
Since moving to the United States in 2017, Lara has been recognized as the second-place winner in the 2021 Sphinx Solo Competition and the winner of the 2021 Frank Preuss International Violin Competition. She was also the recipient of a 2022 Project Inclusion Fellowship from the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Lara received a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she was a student of Almita Vamos and went on to receive a master’s degree in Suzuki Pedagogy from Roosevelt University in 2024.
In the 2022/23 Season, Lara was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, serving as Civic’s Concertmaster from January to June 2023. As a CSO Fellow, Lara performed regularly with the Orchestra, including more than 20 weeks of concerts each season in Chicago and on tour in North America and Europe with Riccardo Muti, the CSO’s Music Director Emeritus for Life. Lara was the inaugural CSO Fellow, holding that position and performing with the CSO first in the 2022/23 Season and continuing in the program during the 2023/24 Season as the Michael and Kathleen Elliott Fellow before her appointment to the second violin section of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Lara is the first CSO musician appointed by Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä and will begin her position as a member of the first violin section effective January 27, 2025.
