Congratulations to NMS pianist Joseph Gallwas for being selected as one of the Finalists for the 2025 Crain-Mailing Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition! Joseph Gallwas is a student of Mary Sauer, Jeffrey Panko and Sean Bennett at New Music School in Chicago.

The preliminary round of the 2025 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition occurred on Jan. 18 at Symphony Center. After a day of auditions, judges selected four finalists to compete in the final round on March 22, accompanied by the Civic Orchestra, led by Jerry Hou.

The finalists are: Tong-Bai Deng, 16, Hinsdale; Joseph Gallwas, 17, Elmhurst; Jeremy Liu, 13, Naperville, and Evangeline Wang, 14, Chicago.

Along with competing in the finals, the four finalists will participate in a master class April 30 with CSO Artist-in-Residence Daniil Trifonov at Orchestra Hall (with the audience seated on the stage and on the Terrace level).

At the YAC finals, he will perform Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, I. Andante-Allegro.

Congratulations to the Gallwas Twins for winning the 2025 Ohio International Piano Duet & Duo Competition Senior Division First Prize.

Both avid concerto, solo, and chamber musicians, Ken and Joe have performed nearly a dozen times with orchestras and earned accolades in competitions such as the Aloha International Piano Competition, Sejong National Competition, Charleston International Competition, International Young Artists Competition, Walgreens, and Elmhurst Stanger Concerto Competitions. In 2024, Ken and Joe placed first and second, respectively, in the ISMTA solo competition and earned top awards at the MTNA state level as well. Most recently, Joseph won the top prize in the O’Malley Foundation Concerto Competition (formerly Walgreens) and is a semi-finalist in the International Young Artists Concerto Competition, scheduled to perform with the Seen Worldwide Orchestra in Chicago.

Congratulations to NMS House of Ravel student Joseph Gallwas for winning the 2025 Young Artist Auditions with the Dupage Symphony Orchestra. Joe will perform March 16th at 3PM with the orchestra. Tickets at link in bio.

Performing: Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 in C Major, Op. 26: 1, Andante - Allegro

NMS Student Joseph Gallwas, pianist, has been named a Semi-Finalist for the 2025 International Young Artist Concerto Competition.

Performing: Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 in C Major, Op. 26: 1, Andante – Allegro

Joseph Gallwas, an avid 17-year-old concerto pianist, has performed across the US and Italy, including concerto works of Chopin’s No. 1, Rachmaninoff’s No. 3, and Shostakovich’s No. 2. His recent awards include winning the Senior Division at O’Malley Foundation National Piano Competition, first place at both the Aloha International Piano Competition and the Rockford Concerto Competition, second place in the ISMTA Senior Division, and alternative winner for the MTNA State level. Additional accolades come from the DePaul Concerto Festival, Elmhurst Stanger, DuPage Young Artists Auditions, and several other national and international competitions. As a chamber musician, his trio has excelled in the Rembrandt and Fischoff competitions. Joseph studies under Jeffrey Panko, Mary Sauer, and Sean Bennett at Chicago’s New Music School, engaging in masterclasses with luminaries like Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Steven Osborne. A junior at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois, Joseph also plays violin in the school orchestra and enjoys ice hockey.