Taras Krysa – conductor

Ukrainian-born, American conductor Taras Krysa is establishing a reputation for innovative and inspiring music-making and leadership throughout the United States and Europe.

Maestro Krysa continues to serve as the Director of Orchestras at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has guest conducted with several international orchestras including the New World Symphony, Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony, Moscow Soloists, Slovak Sinfonietta, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Kyiv Chamber Orchestra, the Lublin Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Las Vegas Philharmonic. In addition, Mr. Krysa led the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Slovak Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra on several European tours including appearances at Amsterdam’s  Concertgebouw Hall. He has conducted soloists such as Dmitri Berlinsky, Sarah Chang, Mykola Suk, Ingrid Fliter, Hilary Hahn, Natasha Paremski, Oleh Krysa, and Steven Vanhauwaert, and many others.

An accomplished violinist, he was a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony Orchestra and continues to maintain an active career performing chamber music. Mr. Krysa recently concluded his ninth season as the Artistic and Music Director of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra in Nevada. Under his leadership, the ensemble has seen its audience expand ten-fold and its concerts are recognized as a treasured part of the cultural life of the greater Las Vegas community.

Mr. Krysa’s pedagogical philosophy is not only to prepare students for professional careers as orchestral performers and teachers but to encourage them to serve as keystones of cultural life in their communities. As Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas since 2006, Mr. Krysa has worked to restore and improve the university’s orchestral program. Both program enrolment and audience attendance have doubled under his direction.

Maestro Krysa actively promotes new music and has made three critically acclaimed recordings for the Brilliant Classics label; two of which featured works by Mozart and the third, a live recording of Freddie Mercury’s rock opera, Barcelona.

Taras was born into a dynasty of professional musicians in Kyiv. His father, Oleh Krysa, is a prominent concert violinist and a pupil of David Oistrakh. His mother, Tatiana Tchekina, was a concert pianist, and his grandfather, Pavel Tchekin, was a tenor at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Mr. Krysa attended the Gnesin School of Music in Moscow before emigrating with his family to the United States in 1989 where he continued his studies in violin and conducting at Indiana University and Northwestern University. He studied violin with Nelli Shkolnikova and Natalia Gvozdetskaya and conducted with Victor Yampolsky, Jorma Panula, and David Zinman. Mr. Krysa was the recipient of a Fullbright award as well as a fellowship at the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival.