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Omega Ensemble To Open 2026 Season With STARBURST National Tour

The three-city program features works by Shostakovich, Jessie Montgomery, Gerald Finzi, and a new concerto by Lachlan Skipworth.

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Omega Ensemble To Open 2026 Season With STARBURST National Tour

Omega Ensemble will launch its upcoming season with Starburst, a national tour featuring Australian trumpeter David Elton. The program includes Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1, Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto, and Jessie Montgomery’s work for strings, alongside a world premiere by Lachlan Skipworth. The tour will bring the ensemble to major venues across Sydney, Newcastle, and Melbourne.

Omega Ensemble will open its 2026 season with Starburst, a three-city tour that will feature guest soloist David Elton and a program spanning Shostakovich, Jessie Montgomery, Gerald Finzi, and a new double concerto by Australian composer Lachlan Skipworth. Performances will take place in Sydney, Newcastle, and Melbourne, with pianist Vatche Jambazian featured in Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings. Artistic Director David Rowden will appear as soloist in Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto and will join Elton in the world premiere of Skipworth’s A Turning Sky.

The program also includes Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, a short work for strings noted for its rhythmic and stylistic interplay. Rowden said the season will “invite audiences to listen with curiosity” and noted Skipworth’s new concerto as a central component of the ensemble’s upcoming work. Elton appears with permission from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Performances will be held at City Recital Hall in Sydney, Newcastle City Hall, and the Melbourne Recital Centre.



Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Sound Design - Top 3
1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys
36.2% of votes
2. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
10.7% of votes
3. Kai Harada - Ragtime
7.2% of votes

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