Spotlight | Associate Principal and Second Trumpet

Omri Barak

Music entered Omri’s life at the age of 4 when, after his older brother was given a trumpet, his parents gave him an ear-training computer game to make sure he felt included. This was followed by the piano at age 5, the violin at 6, and finally, at his brother’s behest, a trumpet of his own at age 8. Despite beginning in college as a Computer Science major, his love for music ultimately won, and he transferred out to pursue an education in trumpet performance. Omri is an alumnus of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with David Bilger, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer.

Omri Barak joins the Kansas City Symphony in the 2025-26 season as Associate Principal and Second Trumpet. Prior to this, he was Principal Trumpet of the Allentown Symphony, a position he had held since the age of 19. Additionally, he spent the 2023-24 season serving as Acting Second Trumpet with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and has been a frequent guest musician with the Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, among others.

In addition to his orchestral playing, Omri is an avid chamber musician and collaborator. Highlights include a performance of Shostakovich’s 1st Piano Concerto with soloist Meng-Chieh Liu and a chamber orchestra made up of accomplished Curtis alumni and current students, the US premiere of Benjamin Staern’s “Confrontation,” a brass sextet headed by acclaimed trumpet soloist Håkan Hardenberger with fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, and sharing the spotlight with an improvised trumpet solo in concert with hip-hop legend DMC. Also a fan of new music, Omri was a member of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra for five summers, where he was principal trumpet for the world-premiere run of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar, hailed by the New York Times as “one of the best performances of 2022.”

When not playing trumpet, Omri enjoys brewing coffee, playing chess, finding new great restaurants, and solving crossword puzzles.