Gabriela Lara has been appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first violin section effective Jan. 27, 2025.

Lara participated in preliminary auditions for a violin-section opening and won the final audition in October. She is the first CSO musician appointed by Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä.

She is also the first CSO Fellow to become a member of the Orchestra.

In a statement regarding her audition, she said, “A big part of my preparation was mentally getting over the performance anxiety and trying to visualize how I’d feel when I’m playing out there. And trying to have my mind focused, but also as clear as possible from anything apart from, ‘You’re going to do your best, and that’s all that matters.’”

Lara began her violin studies at age eight and later became a member of the Latin American Violin Academy. She is an alumna of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education program and moved to Chicago to study with Almita Vamos at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She was the second-place winner in the 2021 Sphinx Solo Competition, the winner of the 2021 Frank Preuss International Violin Competition, and the recipient of a 2022 Project Inclusion Fellowship from the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. She became the first CSO Fellow in the 2022-23 Season and continued as the Michael and Kathleen Elliott Fellow in the 2023-24 Season.