Sebastian Manning, 17, is a recent graduate of the Pre-Conservatory Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago, where he studied violin with Almita Vamos. This autumn, he will start his bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance at The Juilliard School, under legendary violinist and pedagogue Midori Goto. Both in Chicago and during his formative years at the “Ion Vidu” High School of Art in Timișoara, Sebastian has had a rich and varied artistic career. As a soloist, he has given recitals in Romania, Serbia, and the United States, and has collaborated with the Oradea Philharmonic Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Lakeview Orchestra. He served as concertmaster of the Romanian Junior Orchestra in 2024 and of the Music Institute of Chicago Academy Orchestra in 2026. Passionate about chamber music, Sebastian won First Prize and the Grand Prize at this year’s Barnett Chamber Music Competition and Second Prize at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition with the Tikaani Quartet. As part of the SoNoRo programmes, he has played in various chamber ensembles with renowned artists such as Frans Helmerson, Răzvan Popovici, Nicolas Bringuier, Tommaso Lonquich, Diana Ketler, Alexis Cardenas, and Alissa Margulis. In recent years, Sebastian has also participated in several prestigious international competitions. In May 2024, he was a finalist at the “Leonid Kogan” International Competition, and in August, a semifinalist at the Kloster Schotal International Competition. In April 2025, he was a semifinalist at the “Ion Voicu” International Competition in Bucharest, and in December, a finalist at the DePaul National Concerto Competition. In January 2026, he was among the four finalists in the Crain-Maling Young Artist Competition organized by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performing in the final with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago at Orchestra Hall and being named Runner-up for First Prize. This year, Sebastian has been selected as a semifinalist in The Thomas and Evan Cooper International Competition, which will take place in August at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. As part of his ongoing efforts to refine his craft, Sebastian has had the privilege of being mentored by Christoph Wyneken and of taking masterclasses with musicians such as Sarah Nemțanu, Ida Kavafian, Benjamin Beilman, Martin Beaver, Robert Chen, and the Pacifica Quartet. He has participated in three editions of the Eufonia Festival in Timișoara, and as part of the Eufonia Baroque Academy, he studied with Bernhard Forck. He is a fellow of the SoNoRo Interferențe programme, which has given him the opportunity to perform alongside other young musicians and their mentors in Bușteni, Bucharest, Port Cetate, Craiova, Montepulciano, and Arad.

Între 1998 și 2005, a fost concertmaestru al Royal Philharmonic Orchestra din Londra. Este invitată în mod regulat de ansambluri importante în calitate de concertmaestru, precum Royal Opera House din Covent Garden, orchestrele BBC, orchestre simfonice belgiene de renume și orchestre din Franța, Olanda, Spania și Coreea de Sud. Activitatea sa ca solistă și muziciană de cameră – în special ca prim-violonistă a ansamblului Oxalys (din 1993) și ca membru fondator al trioului de coarde TrioFenix – a dus-o pe scene prestigioase din întreaga lume, printre care Concertgebouw din Amsterdam, Konzerthaus din Berlin, Wigmore Hall din Londra, Biblioteca Congresului din Washington D.C. și Teatro Colón din Buenos Aires.

Shirly Laub a fost membru al juriului la concursuri internaționale precum Concursul „Regina Elisabeta”. Este fondatoarea Orchestrei de coarde Musiq’3 Festival și este profesoară de vioară la Conservatorul Regal din Bruxelles din 2003.