George Komsky

Ages: All Ages

Celebrated young Danville tenor, George Komsky, is returning home from Hollywood to perform a live solo concert for the first time before a hometown audience. George Komsky Live in Concert takes the stage at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for a night of Opera, Pop Opera, Neapolitan classics and musical surprises to start out the New Year with a celebration of life and timeless music. A portion of the proceeds from the show will be donated to the Wheelchair Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for those without mobility and without the means to afford it. George is a protégé and scholarship beneficiary of world-renowned vocal teacher Seth Riggs (among his star pupils: Barbara Streisand, Josh Groban, Natalie Cole, and current Metropolitan Opera star Philip Webb). George Komsky grew up in Danville, CA dreaming of being on ‘the world stage’, and at an early age was moved by the beauty of the Bel Canto singing style immortalized by the great Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Tito Schipa. Komsky started his vocal training at age 11 after his grandfather Leo, of Walnut Creek, CA took him to study with the local Cantor at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette. Years of vocal training followed along with a place in Monte Vista High School’s prestigious Chamber Choir that traveled to Italy in 2001 to perform Verdi’s Requiem in St. Paul’s Basilica in Rome. An introduction to Professor Emeritus Dewey Camp of San Francisco State University broadened Komsky’s horizons and gave him the necessary training to win the auditions for UCLA’s highly competitive Opera Department in 2003. After a short break from college, Komsky became the lead soloist for the internationally acclaimed Irish dancing phenomenon RIVERDANCE in 2004 for its North American Tour. When he returned, Simon Cowell’s AMERICA’S GOT TALENT was launching and a fortuitous performance by George at a Hollywood showcase caught the eye of one of the show’s producers, who invited him to compete on the show’s inaugural season. The show garnered 12 million viewers that summer and judge David Hasselhoff said of George: “No matter what happens on this show you are going to make it, you’ve got a big career in ahead of you…” George’s rendition of the Pop Opera classic CARUSO lead show judge Piers Morgan to add: “You are without a doubt, the finest adult singer in this competition.” After graduating UCLA in ‘07, Komsky starred in Dublin Worldwide Productions the “Twelve Irish Tenors” and once again toured the US before returning to Los Angeles to further his vocal training. That year, a fateful introduction to the world’s greatest living Vocal Coach Seth Riggs, changed his life and his understanding of the Italian style of singing. It took only one lesson with Mr. Riggs to distinguish his talent and identify George as a distinct LEGGIERO TENOR, or Light Tenor as they are called - vocally suitable for lighter Tenor roles written by Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Komsky has zealously worked with Riggs as he prepares to audition for the LA and SF Opera, as well a potential return to AMERICA’S GOT TALENT in 2010. With an ever-expanding repertoire of classical music guided by Seth Riggs, Komsky now returns home for his first Solo Concert in the Bay Area on Friday March 19th, 2010 at the Margaret Lesher Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The performance will be peppered with classics from the BARBER OF SEVILLE and THE ELIXIR OF LOVE - along with TOSCA and other timeless classics.