Today we’d like to introduce you to Omar Crook.
Omar, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Started as a writer, became a musician. I’m now in my 15th season with the LA Opera and was recently a soloist on a Grammy-winning recording. Currently co-producing Hila’s album, working with Debbie Allen, teaching her dancers to sing, in the process of starting a non-profit arts organization called Orchestra LA, and about to release a 13 episode podcast series on the 1995 and 2005 Michael Jackson trials. Currently produce and host a podcast, “Living With a Genius”- 90 long-form interviews and counting, with directors, writers, performers, etc. I also have a wife, two young kids, a poodle, and a mortgage.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Resisting the urge to quit is the only struggle any of us face, I think.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m really a polymath. I have varied interests, and I throw everything I have into my ideas. Some work, some don’t.
I’m best known for my ability to connect people. For example, I’ve done quite a bit of singing for the composer, John Powell, as a soloist in his films and on the concert stage. I connected him to my friend, composer, Eric Whitacre. They collaborated to produce the orchestral piece, Deep Field, in association with the Kennedy Space Center.
I also connected Grammy-winning soprano, Hila Plitmann with Ted Perlman, another Grammy award-winning musician, and the three of us a currently in the process of recording an album.
What were you like growing up?
I was picked on in Jr High until I learned how to box between 7th and 8th, then that stopped. I played competitive tennis through High School. I skipped a grade, went from private school to public school, and never felt like I fit in until adulthood.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lwagpod.com
- Email: omar@omarcrook.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lwagpodcast/
Image Credit:
Marc Royce
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