Photo courtesy of Cecilia O’Brien via LinkedIn.

One Ursuline Academy alumna has been selected to participate in the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America for the second time.

Cecilia O’Brien, now a Stamps Scholar at the University of Notre Dame, will play the violin in the 2021 orchestra. She was also a violinist in the 2020 orchestra.

The NYO-USA is formed through Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Musicians ages 16-19 are selected for the free program through an audition process and participate in a multi-week training residency with professional orchestra musicians. See a full list of this year’s orchestra here.

Last year, private lessons, sectionals, studio and master classes were held virtually. Each musician recorded their parts for two virtual performances at their homes. The performances included selections from Valerie Coleman’s “Umoja” and Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”

O’Brien got a shout out from Hillcrest alumnus Rep. Colin Allred on Twitter.

Many well-known, successful musicians made their start in Preston Hollow. There’s Lisa Loeb, Meat Loaf and Steve Miller, to name a few.