As the curtain rises at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concert on April 30, one of the youngest performers on stage will be just 10 years old — and hails from Field Elementary School.
After winning the 2025 Bach Double Violin Competition, fourth grader Julia C. will join the professional musicians, as well as seven other students, for a special performance in Milwaukee, showcasing a talent far beyond her years and marking a once-in-a-lifetime moment in her musical journey.
Julia started playing the violin at the age of six, inspired after attending a friend’s graduation recital and hearing the violinist there play several melodies.
“I really enjoy sharing my music with others, and the music I can make with the violin,” Julia says.
In her only four years of experience, the fourth grader has already amassed an extensive resume in the fine arts. In addition to receiving an honorable mention at the O’Malley Foundation National Concerto Competition in 2024, Julia holds leadership roles as concertmaster and assistant concertmaster in three school orchestras, including Field and in the Music for Youth program in Arlington Heights. She also serves as assistant concertmaster of the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, and is a proud member of the Music Institute of Chicago’s Virtuoso Strings, a prestigious performance and touring chamber ensemble.
“What’s so extraordinary about Julia is that not many students who are involved in outside youth orchestra programs also choose to still participate in their public school program. Julia is so humble and she still chooses to play in the beginning fourth grade orchestra so she can play side by side with her friends,” said Lauren Wargaski, orchestra director for the London strand of schools. “It’s just as important to Julia that she’s there to support and encourage her friends and peers with their talent development too, and this is one of the things that makes her an extraordinary student.”
Julia said she was first introduced to the Bach Double Violin Competition last year by her private violin teacher, Gretchen Grube, but was not named to the 2024 class. However, that drove her to try again this year, where she was named one of four winners for first violins.
“I was really happy, and my family and I had this big celebration,” Julia added. “We were all screaming and just very happy.”
The piece she won the competition with, “Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D Minor – First Movement,” will be the same piece performed with the MSO. Julia has been practicing this piece for months and “will continue to practice every day” leading up to the performance.
She is looking forward to meeting and playing with the orchestra, along with her peers, as performing with a professional orchestra has been a dream of hers ever since picking up the violin.
“I just hope she really enjoys the process,” Wargaski said. “I also hope she knows that she’s giving others a gift by sharing her talent. Although it’s the same piece and many people can and have played this piece, only she can play it the way that she will play it.”
Julia also hopes to continue growing as a violinist, even pursuing a career as a professional musician.
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