Omri Barak - Trumpet
Musical studies began for Omri with the piano at age 5, violin at 6, and finally, at the encouragement of his older brother, the trumpet at age 8, but it was only in high school that he discovered his deep love for music. Nevertheless, a quick learner, he immersed himself in his practice and quickly joined the ranks of his local youth symphony, youth brass band, and high school jazz quartet. Attempts to pursue an academic degree led Omri to realize just how important music was in his life, and in changing course, he gained admission at the renowned Curtis Institute of Music, where he received his bachelor’s degree, and continued to Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music for his master’s. Omri credits his personal success to his major teachers Bill Whitener, Charles Lirette, George Vosburgh, David Bilger, and Barbara Butler, alongside many wonderful colleagues and mentors he has encountered over the course of his career.
Omri was appointed principal trumpet of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra at the age of 19, a formative position that he continues to hold today. In past summers, he held fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, and National Repertory Orchestra. He has also served as acting second trumpet with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and performs regularly as a guest musician with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Other career highlights include serving as principal trumpet with Spoleto Festival USA in the world-premiere run of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Omar, heralded by the New York Times as “one of the best performances of 2022;” soloing with his Allentown Symphony on J.B.G. Neruda’s Concerto for Corno da Caccia in one of their first full-orchestra concerts in the wake of the pandemic; performing at the Tanglewood Music Center with renowned trumpet soloist Håkan Hardenberger in the US premiere of Benjamin Staern’s Confrontation, a devilishly difficult concerto for trumpet and brass quintet; and sharing the stage at Curtis as a soloist alongside pianist Meng-Chieh Liu and a cast of all-star alumni in a chamber orchestra performance of Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto.