Kira Omelchenko
Conductor, JMU Orchestra
Eastern Mennonite University
Recital Hall, 10:00 a.m.
October 5, 2024
Presentation: Encouraging
Musicianship and Expression
Website: kiraconductor.com
Bio:
Winner of the International Conductors Workshop and Competition, Dr. Kira Omelchenko is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of Orchestral Studies at James Madison University School of Music in Virginia. Dr. Omelchenko was selected for a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award in 2023-24 where she resided in New Zealand for five months conducting, teaching, mentoring students, collaborating with local composers, and conducting research in the National Library of New Zealand. During her Fulbright, she was a visiting scholar and artist-in-residence at The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
Dr. Omelchenko is the 2022 winner of the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music, a 2022 finalist in the National American Prize in Music virtual concert production category and is a past prize winner in Opera Conducting category. She has conducted at Carnegie Hall, with the Vienna Opera Academy, and globally in Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, Russia, Thailand, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US. Dr. Omelchenko recently guest conducted the Oregon All-State Orchestra, Orlando All-County Orchestra, Florida All-State Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Waterloo Chamber Players, and the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming guest conducting engagements include concerts in Beijing, Papua New Guinea, Greece, and Sofia, Bulgaria.
A passionate global educator, Dr. Omelchenko is a highly sought-after clinician, and she has adjudicated for Florida Orchestra Association, Music USA Festival at Universal Studios in Orlando, and Brightparks Travel Festivals, and has conducted various Florida All-County Orchestra Festivals. A native of Kansas, Dr. Omelchenko holds a bachelor’s degree in music and theatre from Knox College, a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of New Mexico, and a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Iowa, where she studied with William LaRue Jones.
Dr. Omelchenko is the 2022 winner of the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music, a 2022 finalist in the National American Prize in Music virtual concert production category and is a past prize winner in Opera Conducting category. She has conducted at Carnegie Hall, with the Vienna Opera Academy, and globally in Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, Russia, Thailand, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US. Dr. Omelchenko recently guest conducted the Oregon All-State Orchestra, Orlando All-County Orchestra, Florida All-State Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Waterloo Chamber Players, and the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming guest conducting engagements include concerts in Beijing, Papua New Guinea, Greece, and Sofia, Bulgaria.
A passionate global educator, Dr. Omelchenko is a highly sought-after clinician, and she has adjudicated for Florida Orchestra Association, Music USA Festival at Universal Studios in Orlando, and Brightparks Travel Festivals, and has conducted various Florida All-County Orchestra Festivals. A native of Kansas, Dr. Omelchenko holds a bachelor’s degree in music and theatre from Knox College, a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of New Mexico, and a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Iowa, where she studied with William LaRue Jones.