Lynn LaPlante
Lynn LaPlante is a professional orchestral violinist and violist, with over 25 years’ experience performing, recording, touring, educating, and fundraising for the arts, having served as a member of several orchestral advisory boards and steering committees. She is currently the Principal Violist with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and is a guest musician with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina.
Lynn earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois as a violin performance major. During her time as an undergraduate student, she auditioned and was accepted into the Spoleto Music Festival, a professional international arts festival, performing in the orchestra during the summers off from college.
She was then recruited by the University of Notre Dame, where she won a full ride scholarship plus a paid stipend for her master’s degree. While at Notre Dame, she performed as a member of the Graduate String Quartet in Residence, and was a Teaching Assistant, teaching violin to undergraduate students and pre-college students in the Notre Dame Prep Program. Lynn also wrote the program notes for all concerts at Notre Dame while there.
While working on her master’s degree, Lynn was also accepted into the International Symphony in Israel, made up of professional musicians from around the world, showcasing how the arts can aid in international relations. She lived in an Arab village on a kibbutz for one month, and toured throughout Israel, performing in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Lynn was then recruited to be a member of the first class of a brand new degree program in conjunction with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Roosevelt University, again earning a full scholarship plus a paid stipend to attend. While in this program, Lynn participated in MusiCorps, an educational outreach program, giving lecture performances in Chicago public schools and colleges to students who hadn’t been exposed to Classical music before. During her tenure, she was often asked to be a featured speaker to CSO donors in order to secure funding for the CSO’s training orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, of which she was also a member.
Lynn won a scholarship to attend the Aspen Music Festival to continue her education during the summers, working with the best teachers and performers from around the world. She held leadership positions in each orchestra that she played in. She also worked with the orchestras of other Chicago area universities, sitting in their orchestras as a paid teaching assistant.
With her education complete, Lynn began performing with area orchestras such as the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, the Joffrey Ballet, and the Chicago Philharmonic–where she also held the position of Chamber Music Coordinator. She served in this role by researching, writing and then presenting pre-concert lectures to audiences, as well as recruiting, fundraising and working with donors.
Lynn conceptualized and organized the Get Out The Vote Concert for the 2018 election cycle, drawing on her many connections within the musical world to secure top performers such as The Orbert Davis Quintet, jazz vocalist Tammy McCann, and Grammy-nominated singer Ralph Covert. The event was attended by over thirty candidates on the ballot, including J.B. Pritzker, Susana Mendoza and Kwame Raoul. The event drew hundreds of voters and many activist groups, and also included a successful voter registration drive, making it the largest gathering of candidates in the history of DuPage County.
Nearly fifteen years ago, Lynn found her musical home with the creation of The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, the only Third Stream Orchestra in the country. The CJP maintains a robust recording, touring and performing schedule. Lynn is a member of their Strategic Planning Committee, and serves as co-host and auction host for their annual Dream Big Gala, as well as serving as their Principal Violist.
Lynn enjoys playing her violin for area nursing homes, especially for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s after losing her Mom, also a musician, to that disease. She plays for patients under hospice care, providing comfort during end of life stages, after seeing how she was always able to reach her Mom by playing for her.
Lynn lives in Glen Ellyn with her husband of 23 years, Michael Allaway, and their four school-aged children. She serves as Vice-President of the Association of Music Parents as well as also serving as a Boosters Board Member for Glenbard West. She founded GEWLS, a support group for working Moms, serves on various charitable organizations, helps coach kids’ sports teams, volunteers in her kids’ classrooms, and plays her violin in her parish, St. Petronille. She was elected to the DuPage County Board in November 2020, where she serves the constituents of District 4.
