ABOUT

Tali Gastwirth is a 17-year-old violinist and an 11th grade student at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois where she has served as concertmaster of New Trier's Symphony Orchestra. Her love for music began early, when she started playing the violin at age 4.

Tali currently performs as a member of the Symphony Orchestra with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and has earned selection to The Classical Orchestral Repertory Ensemble (CORE), a chamber orchestra made up of a select group of exceptional Symphony Orchestra students who perform traditional classical orchestral repertoire. She also participates in Northwestern University Music Academy's Virtuosi Strings program. Tali has performed internationally in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, as well as Provence, France.

Tali has been selected as a member of the ILMEA All-State Orchestra for Illinois in both 2025 and 2026, an honor awarded to outstanding high school musicians throughout the state. She also received an honorable mention award at New Trier's Concerto Competition in the winter of 2026.

Her summer programs reflect her dedication to musical growth. This summer, after being selected by audition, Tali was invited to attend the prestigious Center Stage Strings program at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance. The program focuses on intensive solo and chamber music training, allowing young musicians to study with a faculty of accomplished artist-teachers. A major highlight of her summer will also be performing on the main stage at Lollapalooza alongside the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In summer 2025, Tali was accepted into both the Ascent International Chamber Music Festival and Interlochen's Advanced Strings program. She also participated in the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, expanding her ensemble experience. In recognition of her talent and to support these studies, Tali was awarded a merit-based scholarship from the New Trier Fine Arts Association.

During the summer of 2024, she attended the Summer Music Clinic at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she distinguished herself as concertmaster of the Orchestra, and also participated in the Summer Youth Music Senior Orchestra Program at the University of Illinois. In previous summers she participated in the orchestra program at the Interlochen Center for the Arts (2022-2023) and at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (2021), where she was also selected as concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra.

Since 2021, Tali has been studying with Stacia Spencer in her private studio at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. During her free time, Tali also enjoys volunteering by serving as a mentor for younger violin students as part of the Music Academy strings program at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Two of Tali’s most ardent musical supporters are her beloved dogs, both rescued, Remy (a black lab and great dane mix) and Ellie (a goldendoodle).