Joshua Roman Returns to the Omaha Symphony: “It Never Feels Like Just Another Trip”

May 12th, 2026

He picked up the cello at three years old in Oklahoma. By six, his mind was made up. No one, he says, was going to talk him out of it.

Cellist Joshua Roman has spent the past two decades building one of the most distinctive careers in American classical music, as principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony, a sought-after soloist, and a performer with a rare gift for connecting with audiences far beyond the concert hall. This spring, he returns to the Omaha Symphony to perform Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, a showpiece that Roman describes with barely contained delight.

“It’s fantastic virtuosity, fun, showing off, and also moments that will bring tears to your eyes,” Roman says. “I love watching an audience hold their breath to the highest note.”

The piece comes with a story. Tchaikovsky wrote it as a tribute to Mozart, his spiritual safe harbor during years of personal struggle. A cellist named Fitzenhagen later rearranged it,  cutting a variation, shuffling the order, and amplifying the drama. Tchaikovsky was, by all accounts, furious. And then, recognizing the public’s embrace of the new version, he quietly stepped aside.

Roman, who grew up playing in bands as much as concert halls, says that story resonates. Music, he believes, lives best when it reaches people,  wherever they are, however it arrives.

“I believe that every human is born creative,” he says. “I hope everyone who hears this music comes away inspired to find just a little bit of that in their daily life.”

Joshua Roman performs the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with the Omaha Symphony. Tickets and information: OmahaSymphony.org.