Tinley Park violinist who has played London, Paris and Broadway graduates to Grant Park Music Festival

Chicago Tribune

10-06-2025

All those hours of practice on the violin, first alongside her mother and later for hours on her own, have paid off for Amanda Schuler, who will be performing with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Grant Park Music Festival June 12 and then at Lollapalooza later in July.
'This marks the first time in Lollapalooza history that an orchestra will perform solo on one of the festival's main stages,' said Schuler, who recently graduated as valedictorian from Mother McAuley High School in Chicago. 'We have been invited to perform at many places, but this one brought on the loudest cheers when the orchestra found out.'
The free concert June 12 in Grant Park is a way to celebrate the orchestra's upcoming 10-day concert tour of Spain. Though Schuler, who lives in Tinley Park with her family, won't be able to make that trip, she said she is excited about being part of the concert.
The orchestra will be playing its repertoire for the Spain tour. The CYSO's Kaiso Steelpan Orchestra will be performing in the North Promenade Tent.
Schuler picked up the violin at about 3 years old and her mother, Dorothy, learned to play just so she could be there doing so next to her daughter.
'It was a great help to have her learning the violin with me,' Schuler said.
She kept at it and auditioned for the CYSO at age 8, was accepted and started in the organization's Preparatory Strings orchestra at 9.
'I was eager to connect with other kids my own age who shared my passion for music, especially classical music,' Schuler said.
Then every year she pushed herself to audition for the next higher orchestra.
'I was so excited every June to say, oh, I finally made it to the next orchestra,' she said.
Along the way, Schuler said she found tremendous inspiration from Christie-Keiko Abe, her violin teacher for 11 years.
'She's helped me in so many ways,' Schuler said. 'She's such a positive person with so much energy and that energy she puts into making her students better. She really cares about her students, which is why I've been with her for so long.'
Schuler said Allen Tinkham, CYSO's music director, had been a great influence, too.
'I think what makes him such a great conductor is he breaks things down into little pieces of music and he really knows how to identify problems in tempo, dynamics, etc.' she said. 'Another reason is that he relates it to the outside world really well, so if an instrument or brass is rushing, he says, 'Don't be in such a hurry to get there like cars on the street.'
Her talent also was nurtured at Mother McAuley, where Schuler was concertmaster of the string ensemble each year. She was also Illinois Music Education Association's High School State musician in her sophomore, junior and senior years and part of the school's golf cart ride tradition. She also went to state for math each high school year. Plus she was invited to perform in one of her school alum's weddings.
Schuler also won first place in two Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competitions, where she got to perform as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall in London and Philharmonie in Paris, received the Music Inspiration Award from the CYSO, and was a finalist in the Houston International Music Competition and received an honorable mention in the DePaul Concerto Competition.
She was also part of the orchestra's recording of Good Night, Oscar, which played on Broadway.
Tinkham, the CYSO music director, applauded Schuler for her accomplishments.
'There are so many of our students who excel in all areas of their lives and she is a perfect example of someone who does everything she does to the highest level,' said Tinkham. 'She's so dedicated and she's one of those students we love to assign to special projects because she's dependable.'
The program receives roughly 300 applications and accepts only the top 40, but also wants students who are well-rounded and making a path to other future careers.
'You know, one of the reasons we trademarked the phrase, 'Listen to the future,' is because that really is what you're hearing at the CYSO and not just the future of music, but the future of so many disciplines … law, medicine, business,' said Tinkham. 'This is what we mean when we talk about nurturing leaders on and off the stage.
'It's about so much more than just cranking out notes,' he said.
Schuler will be attending Purdue University, majoring in nursing, starting classes this summer, and auditioning for their orchestra.
She's been working for Adventures in Mr. Math, an online non-profit for gifted students, which she plans to continue.
But the CYSO will always be with her in spirit.
'It's definitely been a big part of my life,' said Schuler. 'I will miss it, now that I have graduated, but I am happy for the friendships that I have made over the years.'