Omaha Symphony’s Masterworks Series Welcomes Guest Conductor and Rising Star Cellist

February 21st, 2025

The Omaha Symphony’s next Masterworks Series concert will feature a special guest conductor and a rising young cellist making waves on both national and international stages.

Music Director Ankush Kumar Bahl will not conduct this weekend’s performance, but he has entrusted the orchestra to a longtime colleague, Maestro Eric Neal. Neal will lead the ensemble through a program that highlights orchestral brilliance and a celebrated soloist.

Cellist Oliver Herbert, a rapidly emerging talent in the classical world, will take the stage for the concert’s first half to perform Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, one of the most revered works in the instrument’s repertoire.

Dvořák was influenced by several figures while composing the concerto, including Victor Herbert, an Irish-born cellist and professor at the National Conservatory of Music in New York. The piece also holds deep personal significance for the composer—Dvořák made revisions to the slow movement and finale in honor of his first love, Josefa Čermáková, who was gravely ill as he completed the work.

The second half of the program features Sir Edward Elgar’s Symphony No. 1, a work that was met with immense acclaim following its 1908 premiere. The performance may mark the first time the Omaha Symphony has presented the symphony.

KVNO will broadcast the Saturday evening concert live, beginning at 7:25 p.m. Following the performance, Oliver Herbert will offer a free After Hours concert in the Holland Center lobby, giving audiences another opportunity to experience his artistry up close.

By Coleen Cook for the KNVO Arts Desk.