SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Theodore Kuchar, Reno Chamber Orchestra music director, has been appointed the artistic director of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela, according to information at the Orquesta’s website.
In its 81st season, the OSV, or Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, is based in Caracas and is an acclaimed part of the thriving world of Venezuelan classical music, made famous worldwide through its music education program “El Sistema” and one of its best-known exponents, Gustavo Dudamel of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Kuchar says, “The status of Venezuela in the classical music world has become very well-known, and I am proud to have been appointed the new conductor in the city most talked about in the world of orchestral music.”
Theodore Kuchar is in his eighth season as music director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, and his seventh as artistic director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival. He is the most recorded conductor of his generation, with over 100 compact discs to his credit on the Brilliant Classics, Naxos, Marco Polo, and Ondine labels. Along with his posts in Reno and Venezuela, he currently serves as music director of the Fresno Philharmonic and the Janácek Philharmonic (Ostrava, Czech Republic), resident conductor of Kent/Blossom Music (the summer educational institution of the Cleveland Orchestra), and conductor emeritus of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.
In recent seasons Kuchar has conducted in major musical centers including Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Prague, Seoul and Sydney, and has collaborated with world-renowned artists like James Galway, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Jessye Norman, Sarah Chang, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Frederica von Stade.
Founded in 1930, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela, known in Venezuela simply as “The Symphony,” is the oldest of the country’s orchestras. Among the famous musicians that have performed with the OSV are Jascha Heifetz, Pablo Casals, Yo-Yo Ma, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Igor Stravinsky, Eugene Ormandy, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Artur Rubinstein.
The Orquesta has performed throughout South and Central America as well as in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Russia. In 1981, having been recognized for its “National Artistic Heritage,” the OSV embarked on a European tour that took it to the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Austria and France. Since its inception the OSV’s performances have reached into the realms of orchestral music, opera, ballet, musicals, chamber music, soundtracks, folk and popular music, and tango. The OSV’s seventy annual performances reach audiences throughout Venezuela via regular broadcasts on Radio Nacional de Venezuela and the Station Cultural de Caracas.
Founded in 1974, the Reno Chamber Orchestra presents concerts to audiences in northern Nevada and beyond. Over the course of its 36 years, some of the world’s most famous performers have appeared with the RCO, including Leonard Nimoy, Itzhak Perlman, Edgar Meyer, James Buswell, and Pepe and Angel Romero. Along with its regular season of performances, the RCO presents the annual Nevada Chamber Music Festival in December, the College Concerto Competition (Nevada’s only music competition for college students), and a host of other concerts and events. More information is available at renochamberorchestra.org.
