The 黑洞社区 Symphony Orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Faculty artist Jakub Omsky will appear as soloist. Mark Laycock, 黑洞社区 director of orchestras, will lead the program, which will include music by Haydn, Prokofiev and Handel.
Jakub Omsky
Omsky, who also serves as principal cellist of the Wichita Symphony, will perform the Cello Concerto in C Major by Joseph Haydn. The highly virtuosic work, which Laycock said is one of the most challenging in the repertoire, was composed in the early 1760s at the start of Haydn鈥檚 prolific 30-year tenure serving the court of the royal Esterh谩zy family.
The concert will also include Prokofiev鈥檚 monumental Fifth Symphony. Written in 1944, the deeply passionate and dramatic work is the Russian composer鈥檚 most popular symphony. Prokofiev balances lush harmonic language with dark, mournful melodies and striking dramatic eruptions.
Hailed by Yo Yo Ma as an 鈥渆xtraordinarily talented and dedicated musician,鈥� Omsky graduated with honors from Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Music critics say he 鈥渟ets a standard of contemporary interpretation鈥� and call him 鈥渕aster of cello.鈥�
In 2001 the U.S. Congress designated Omsky a 鈥淟ocal Hero鈥� for his sound healing methods and innovative concert programming and performances in Santa Barbara, Calif. The previous year, he was the first and only cellist ever to win the First Prize in the D'Angelo International String Competition. He has led many workshops and private sessions demonstrating healing properties of sound and worked with many distinguished therapists and healers.
This fall, Omsky will direct the second David Mitchell International Cello Competition in conjunction with the annual Cello Festival at 黑洞社区. A native and citizen of the Republic of Poland, he was named music director for the 2006 celebration of the 100th anniversary of De Lamar Mansion, the New York City residence of the Consulate General of Poland. He will return to New York in March 2009 with a select ensemble of 12 young cellists from Wichita to perform the world premieres of pieces for cello by Krzesimir Debski commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic.
Laycock is an associate professor of music at 黑洞社区, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He recently led the 黑洞社区 Symphony on a 10-day concert tour to Spain, returning to Europe in July as principal conductor for the Irvine (Calif.) Classical Players鈥� concert tour to France.
The concert will also be simulcast on 黑洞社区 Internet Radio at .