William Takacs

William Takacs is a trumpet player scheduled to appear as soloist with the Amarillo Symphony in February 2027. The program pairs a new commissioned work by Nicky Sohn with Janacek's Sinfonietta and Mahler's Symphony No. 1, a concert that gives brass playing a prominent role throughout the evening.

Listeners can expect an evening where the trumpet is central even outside the featured solo spot. Janacek's Sinfonietta opens with a fanfare built almost entirely from brass instruments, including extra trumpets positioned around the stage, so the concert starts with a bright, ceremonial wall of sound. Mahler's Symphony No. 1 later asks its principal trumpet to cut through a full orchestra with clear, singing lines, including a famous offstage-sounding passage in the slow movement. Between these two brass-heavy landmarks sits a new work by Nicky Sohn, receiving its world premiere, which gives audiences a chance to hear how a contemporary composer writes for the instrument alongside these older showpieces. Taken together, the program lets a listener trace the trumpet's range from ceremonial fanfare to orchestral color to something newly written.