Conductor brings international experience to local orchestra

Taras Krysa knew at the age of 6 what instrument he wanted to play: the violin. It wasn’t what his family wanted but he stood firm.

“I refused to play cello,” Krysa recalled.

His father played the violin and “I wanted to play the violin,” Krysa said.

Now 38, Krysa continues to trust his instincts when working as conductor of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra and director of orchestras at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“In choosing the repertoire for the Henderson and UNLV orchestras, there are two things to take into consideration: the needs of the orchestra, in light of what they have done before, in order to take them to the next level, and my gut feeling,” he said.

Krysa will conduct the Henderson Symphony Orchestra in its season finale concert “Triumphant” on Sunday. The program will include performances of Franz Liszt’s “Les Preludes” and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. In addition, the concert will feature marimba soloist Alex Stopa, winner of UNLV’s Huntzinger Concerto competition, performing Concerto for Marimba.

He was hired as the new conductor of the Henderson Symphony in January after the previous conductor, Peter Aaronson, resigned. This will be his fourth appearance with the orchestra.

“They are very good technically and musically, considering it is a community orchestra made up of all volunteers,” Krysa said. “They will continue to get better and better.”

Among his responsibilities at UNLV is overseeing the symphony and chamber orchestras.

“We have a strong percussion ensemble and a strong voice department,” Krysa said of the UNLV program. He added that he “loves” his first teaching experience and the opportunity to work with students.

Krysa was born in the Ukraine and grew up in Moscow before coming to the United States with his family in 1989. He comes from a musical family, and both of his parents — father, Oleh Krysa, and mother, Tatiana Tchekina — teach at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester (N.Y.).

He studied the violin at Indiana University and Northwestern University. Before moving to Las Vegas last fall, Krysa acted as a guest conductor for national and international symphonies. He also was the principal conductor of the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra.

“I did substantial guest conducting in Holland, Poland and Russia,” said Krysa, who first visited Las Vegas when he toured as a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1999.

Sunday’s concert, which will end the Henderson Symphony Orchestra’s 20th anniversary season, will be at 2 p.m. at the Henderson Pavilion, 200 S. Green Valley Parkway. Admission is free, and seating is on a first come, first served basis. For more information, call 267-2171.

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