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Cecilia O’Malley, winner of the 2026 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition, joins the Civic Orchestra and conductor Naomi Woo to perform the first movement of Korngold’s Violin Concerto.
Elliot Mandel
CHICAGO – Nearly 900 Chicago community members gathered at Symphony Center on Saturday, January 17, for the finals of the annual Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists competition. Following a round of preliminary auditions with 36 participants in December 2025, the finals featured four talented string musicians (16-year-old violinist Sebastian Manning, 17-year-old violinist Cecilia O’Malley, 17-year-old cellist Gabriel Raviv and 15-year-old cellist Ella Wimbiscus) performing selections from concertos by Tchaikovsky, Korngold, Kabalevsky and Dvořák with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago conducted by Naomi Woo.
Program host Lisa Flynn moderates a conversation with the four finalists of the 2026 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition. Finalists L to R: Gabriel Raviv (cello), Sebastian Manning (violin), Cecilia O’Malley (violin) and Ella Wimbiscus (cello).
Elliot Mandel
WFMT Radio Host Lisa Flynn served as emcee at the event where violinist Cecilia O’Malley was announced as the winner of the prestigious competition for young Illinois musicians following her performance of the first movement of Korngold’s Violin Concerto. Violinist Sebastian Manning, who performed the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, was announced as the runner up. As the 2026 winner of the Crain Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition, O’Malley will appear with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in the CSO Youth Concerts on March 3 and 4, 2027.
League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association Member Elizabeth Stein announces violinist Cecilia O’Malley as the winner of the 2026 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition on stage with O’Malley and the other finalists.
Elliot Mandel
When asked what was most rewarding about participating in the competition, O’Malley said: “For me, the most rewarding part of the Young Artist Competition was not only collaborating with a conductor and orchestra of the caliber of Maestro Naomi Woo and the Civic Orchestra, but also sharing the stage with three incredible young musicians that I truly respect and even have the honor to call friends.”
O’Malley went on to add that “Performing with the CSO has always been a cherished dream of aspiring young soloists, and I am so inexpressibly grateful to my family and my teachers without whom the realization of this dream could never have been possible for me; I feel very blessed that I will have the opportunity to perform one of my favorite concertos and be a part of a concert that may inspire a future generation of classical musicians.”
Prior to winning the Young Artist Competition, O’Malley has collaborated as a soloist with many Midwestern orchestras, including the Elmhurst Symphony and the Lakeview Orchestra. She was also a Bronze Medalist in the 2025 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; she also plays cello and piano.
The Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition provides a unique opportunity for talented young musicians to showcase their skills on a world-class stage as part of a rigorous audition process with a distinguished panel of judges. Each year, the competition is presented jointly by the League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
