The Santa Barbara Chamber Players will open its 2026 concert season with music by Fanny Hensel, Dmitri Shostakovich and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 909 N. La Cumbre Road.

Conducted by Daniel Gee and featuring acclaimed cellist Jakub Omsky as soloist, the program will offer patrons an evening ranging from Romantic-era orchestral writing to the dramatic intensity of 20th-century Russia and the timeless elegance of the Classical period, organizers said.

The concert begins with Hensel’s “Overture in C major.” The gifted composer and pianist, sister of Felix Mendelssohn, wrote music that is now receiving renewed recognition for its craftsmanship and expressive energy, organizrs said.

The concert’s centerpiece is Shostakovich’s “Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107,” performed by Omsky. Composed in 1959 for legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the concerto combines rhythmic energy, lyricism, humor, and emotional intensity.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Omsky began his studies as a prodigy, becoming the youngest student in the history of the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy. He later studied at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the USC Thornton School of Music.

His career has included performances throughout the U.S. and Europe, and appearances at the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival and Music Academy of the West.

He was named Music Maker of the Year in 2000, and won the 2000 International D’Angelo Competition in Strings.
The program concludes with Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550,” one of the composer’s most celebrated and emotionally compelling symphonies.

Admission to the concert is $30; patrons ages 18 and younger attend for free. Visit sbchamberplayers.org for tickets and more information.