The Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles (QCSYE) is proud to announce the winners of the annual Concerto Competition held on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at Bettendorf High School. The competition included fourteen accomplished Youth Symphony Orchestra (YSO) members performing selections of their choice for the chance to win one of two prestigious prizes.
Cellist Keira Cromwell has won the Grand Prize. Now a two-time Grand Prize winner, Cromwell’s exemplary performance and dedication earned her the honor of performing the first movement of Antonín Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) at the QCSO/QCSYE Side-by-Side Concert on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 3:00 PM at the Adler Theatre.
Keira Cromwell is a 16-year-old cellist from Iowa City and a junior at Laurel Springs Academy. She began her studies at the Preucil School of Music at age three and has been an active participant in the Preucil Orchestra and Cello Choir for many years. She currently serves as principal cellist of the YSO.
Keira has been fortunate to perform in a variety of settings and has earned opportunities through concerto competitions with the Central Iowa Symphony, Fort Dodge Area Symphony, Muscatine Symphony, Ottumwa Symphony, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestras. She is also a Pan-American Music Awards winner, which included a solo performance at Carnegie Hall, and a recent recipient of the Iowa City Music Study Club Scholarship Award.
Her musical development has been shaped by programs such as the Ascent Music Cello Festival, Interlochen, and the International Cello Institute. She also studies piano and flute, contributes volunteer performances in the community, and mentors younger musicians through the Preucil work-study program. Keira studies cello under Laura Shaw at the Preucil School of Music and is further mentored by Hannah Holman, who are both QCSO cellists.
Outside of music, Keira trains in foil fencing at the Iowa City Fencing Center and has qualified for USA Fencing Nationals multiple times.
The YSO Prize has been awarded to David Hayford, a senior bassoonist and student at United Township High School. Hayford will perform the first movement of “Concerto da esperimento”, by Gioachino Rossini at the QCSYE Winter Concert on Sunday, February 16 at 3:00 PM at the Davenport Central High School Performing Arts Center.
David Hayford has been playing bassoon since the age of 10 and is a student of Matt Kowalczyk, QCSO Second Bassoon, through the QCSO Private Lesson Program. He has also studied briefly with Dr. Andrea Baker and Dr. Benjamin Coelho.
David is the principal bassoonist in the United Township High School symphonic band and a section leader and featured bassoon soloist in the UT marching band. Outside of school, David is the principal bassoonist of the QCYSO and has participated in many regional and state-wide ensembles, being a six-time Illinois Music Education Association all-district bassoonist, a three-time Illinois Music Education Association all-state bassoonist, and an honorary member of the Western Illinois University Wind Ensemble. As a soloist, David has twice been a first prize recipient of the University of Iowa Double Reed Young Artist Competition and has performed at several exhibitions, recitals, and at his church.
Outside of music, David is interested in chemical engineering. He is also a mid-distance track athlete at United Township High School and enjoys playing volleyball and tennis recreationally. Some of his hobbies include origami, cooking, baking, and volunteering at various events.
The professional adjudication panel included pianist Dr. Robert Elfline and QCSO musicians Chris Haas, Ellen Huntington, Sabrina Tabby, and Kate Vos. Professional accompanists for the students were QCSO Principal Keyboard, Dr. Mary Neil, and Augustana College professors Sheila Doak and Dr. Charles Schmidt.
Tickets are available to hear the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles and concerto performances by David and Keira at qcso.org.
About the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles
The Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles (QCSYE) program consists of five performance groups (four youth orchestras and a youth choir) for students in grades two through twelve. Under the direction of the outstanding QCSYE conducting staff, members have the opportunity to perform great orchestral and choral repertoire with the most talented young musicians in the area and learn from the mentorship of professional musicians from throughout the region. Ensemble members come from the greater Quad Cities, as well as other communities in southeast Iowa and northwest Illinois.
