String musicians Jesús Linárez and Olivia Reyes appointed as CSO Fellows

Violinist Jesús Linárez and bassist Olivia Reyes have been selected as the next winners of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Fellowship, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announced May 8.

Beginning in September, they will join violinist Gabriela Lara, the current CSO Fellow, who returns next season for her second year in the program.

Launched in 2022, the CSO Fellowship program welcomes musicians from populations that have traditionally been underrepresented in American symphony orchestras. The program was developed with guidance from Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti, the CSO Members’ Committee and Chicago Federation of Musicians.

CSO Fellows gain experience rehearsing and performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, along with acclaimed guest conductors and receiving training and mentorship from CSO musicians. The training is designed to better equip CSO Fellows to win auditions in major U.S. orchestras. They also receive compensation to perform a minimum of 20 subscription weeks with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as financial support to attend auditions, and have access to up to 10, one-hour private lessons with a CSO musician annually. CSO Fellows may be invited to extend their fellowship for up to three years.
 
A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Linárez is studying at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he recently won the 2023 Concerto Competition and is a student of Almita Vamos. He is a member of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where he has served as a co-concertmaster in 2022/23. Linárez was recently named concertmaster of the West Michigan Symphony and was also a 2022 fellow in Chicago's Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.

Linárez was a student at the Conservatorio de Música Vicente Emilio Sojo from 2009-2017, where he studied violin, piano and music theory. He was also a member of the Latin American Violin Academy, studying with Jose Francisco del Castillo. Linárez was also a member of the Venezuelan Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra. He performed with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra as part of a 2016 European tour. Linárez was a semi-finalist in the 2021 Sphinx Solo Competition, the winner of the 2022 Evanston Music Club Scholarship and the first-prize winner in the 2021 Chicago Violin Competition.
 
Bassist Olivia Reyes graduated in 2021 with a bachelor of music degree in bass performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, studying with Jon McCullough-Benner, principal bass of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Reyes is a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she has performed as a section and rotating principal bassist since 2021. Reyes has also been a substitute principal bass for the Opera Festival of Chicago and a substitute bass with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and the Camerata Chicago. In 2021, Reyes was principal bass of the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. She is also active as a mentor for the CSO’s Negaunee Music Institute ongoing partnership with Chicago Public Schools and a substitute mentor and coach for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras.


The CSO Fellowship Program is part of a commitment to training the next generation of musicians. The program builds on the CSOA’s longstanding focus on the training and development of musicians that began more than 100 years ago with the founding of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the pre-professional training orchestra affiliated with the CSO.

The CSOA has gone on to create or participate in programs that support young musicians from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the orchestral field, specifically those applying to top conservatories and post-secondary music schools as they seek a career in classical music performance. These programs include the Percussion Scholarship Program, Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative and Sphinx Orchestral Partners Auditions.



The CSO Fellowship Program is currently open to early-career string players (violin, viola, cello, double bass) who have graduated from college, university or conservatory and are from populations traditionally underrepresented in American symphony orchestras. Applicants must have U.S. citizenship, permanent U.S. residency or an 0-1 or OPT visa and must be a member in good standing of the American Federation of Musicians or willing to join the AFM if accepted to the Fellowship. Up to three Fellows may participate in the program each season. If accepted, a Fellow may be invited to participate for up to three years. For information about the CSO Fellowship, visit cso.org/fellowship.