Hailed as "someone to watch" for possessing "wonderful technique as well as keen musical sensibilities" by ClevelandClassical.com, classical guitarist Krystin O'Mara’s dazzling soloistic capabilities render her an extraordinary talent with captivating sound quality, intense musicality, and interpretive clarity.
In recent seasons, Ms. O’Mara has appeared on several concert series throughout America, including a performance exhibition at the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, the New Music Festival at Bowling Green State University (performing and recording Martin Herchenroder's "Landschaften, a concerto for two guitars and orchestra," for Albany Records), the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society Local Artists and Rising Stars Series, and the Princeton Sound Kitchen at Princeton University.
An advocate of contemporary music, Ms. O’Mara has commissioned and recorded several new works by today’s leading composers, including “Macunaíma” by Grammy-nominated Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad and “Winged Throat” by Emily Koh. Award-winning composer Viet Cuong wrote for her “OBSESSION,” which went on to win first prize at the Boston GuitarFest Composition Competition. O’Mara performed the world-premiere of the strikingly deep work at Princeton before releasing her similarly titled debut solo CD in 2013, which was released to critical acclaim.
In addition to her soloistic success, Ms. O’Mara performs in collaboration with saxophonist Ethan Miller in Duende. A unique duo representing a fresh, new direction in contemporary classical music,Duende performs traditional classical repertoire with influences from Spanish, flamenco, jazz, Brazilian, and world music, as well as commissioned works. The saxophone and guitar duo recently appeared in concert series at the University of Georgia, Agnes Scott College, Akron University and Kent State University, as well as the US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium. Their debut CD, Travel Notebook, is available through Centaur Records.
Believing strongly in arts advocacy initiatives, Ms. O’Mara serves as the board secretary for the Atlanta Guitar Guild and is currently an active performer for outreach and community concerts throughout Atlanta. She has previously acted as a site coordinator for The Creative Access (Peabody Conservatory’s outreach initiative) while in Baltimore and as a volunteer with the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society.
A passionate and dedicated guitar instructor, O’Mara is currently on faculty at Kent State University as an adjunct professor. Previous appointments include serving on faculty at Agnes Scott College and Truett McConnell University. She also maintains a private teaching studio - Classical Guitar Alpharetta - in Greater Atlanta, GA.
Ms. O’Mara completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Georgia under Daniel Bolshy and a Postgraduate Studies Certificate at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with world-renowned Grammy-winning artist Jason Vieaux. She received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees simultaneously from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University with Julian Gray.
