Violinist Jesús Linárez studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he recently won the 2023 Concerto Competition and is a student of Almita Vamos. He is a member of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where he served as a co-concertmaster in the 2022-23 season. Linárez was recently named concertmaster of the West Michigan Symphony and was also a 2022 fellow in the Grant Park Orchestra of Chicago. Originally from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Linárez was a student at the Conservatorio de Música Vicente Emilio Sojo from 2009-2017, where he studied violin, piano and music theory. He was also a member of the Latin American Violin Academy, where he studied with Jose Francisco del Castillo. Linárez was also a member Venezuelan Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra and performed with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra as part of a 2016 European tour. Linárez was also a semi-finalist in the 2021 Sphinx Solo Competition, winner of the 2022 Evanston Music Club Scholarship and the first-prize winner in the 2021 Chicago Violin Competition.