HGO Spotlight On: Orchestra Member Oleg Sulyga
Born in Moscow, Oleg Sulyga grew up in a musical environment. His father played violin professionally, and his mother was a piano teacher. Sulyga began his own artistic journey when he was 6 years old—first playing piano, then attending an advanced music school for violin.
When Sulyga was 13, his family moved to Spain for his father’s career. At 16, he was accepted into an arts boarding school in California. Leaving his family behind, he traveled across the globe to follow his passion. He went on to study the violin at Southern Methodist University and pursue a master’s degree at the University of Houston. And like so many Houstonians before him, without quite meaning to, he ended up settling here, occasionally visiting his family back in Spain.
After arriving to UH, Sulyga soon found himself subbing for another musician at HGO, and in 2001, he officially joined our orchestra. He’s been a violinist with the company ever since, in addition to playing for the Houston Ballet Orchestra and other ensembles. Over the years, he’s added titles including husband, father, and real estate agent.
Here’s Sulyga on his life and career, in his own words:
I have been playing the violin for 43 years because I enjoy it. My parents were both musicians, and my childhood exposure to concerts, ballet, and museums enhanced my love of music. When we lived in Moscow, I had to audition for music school to demonstrate my proficiency. I learned piano first, but the violin presented itself when I went to a special music school for kids with abilities. After we left the Soviet Union, we later moved to Spain, where I got to learn Spanish and meet other kids with different cultures and experiences. I was still practicing music when I decided to audition for an arts boarding school in California and got accepted.
So, at 16, I went across the ocean. After graduating high school, I ended up pursuing my Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from Southern Methodist University. I studied in France for a year before returning to Texas where I got my Master of Music degree from the University of Houston, where I ultimately learned about Houston Grand Opera while subbing as a violin player.
Working with HGO was a new experience, and an exciting opportunity. New repertoire, new colleagues, new workplace, and a new home. I hadn’t played in an opera before, beyond a few little productions at summer festivals and in college. It was a great beginning full of things that I hadn't experienced before. It's exciting to play in an orchestra because you don't know, you don't see, and you can't tell what's happening on stage. It is amazing that we are able to experience this live drama in a city like Houston that is so diverse. We see so many different productions of all time periods, genres, and stories that are intertwined. That's amazing.
I never imagined myself in the pit of an orchestra at an opera company. Every little kid who aspires to be a soloist wants to be in a grand hall on a stage by themselves, but realistically, it's tough. There's only a few out of thousands that make it. I also realized I felt more comfortable in a chamber music setting with other colleagues on stage, which is a feeling I still cherish to this day. The orchestral job allows you to be on the highest level with great soloists and conductors. I work with opera and ballet full-time during the season. I also have the opportunity to do symphonic repertoire during the summers at festivals. It fulfills both worlds.
I vividly remember many HGO moments that deeply impacted me, like doing Samson and Delilah in 2002 while the performances were translated to a big screen on the Ray C. Fish Plaza with Plazacast. The sensation of that same performance that you're having inside the hall being translated outside—it's something special. Of course, accomplishing a big achievement like being able to play Wagner’s Ring cycle, not a lot of people in the music world can say that they have done. I am very thankful for that experience, because that's a very special feat. There are also so many soloists that we have been fortunate to work with, such as Renée Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, you name it, that were here through all these years. Just being able to experience their mastery, artistry, and voice, live, is unforgettable.
When I am not an orchestra member, I am a real estate agent, because I wanted a career where could employ language skills and personal skills with friends and the community of Houston. It was a career move during COVID when performing wasn’t possible. It's a whole different world. I am also a father to my daughter who is 5 years old, so family time is important. Spending time with her and experiencing that little creature, that little life that's growing, is prime.
As a musician, maintenance is essential. Beyond the amount of practice you have to put in initially when you're growing up and studying and preparing for auditions and school and so on, you have to keep on working. And that takes a lot of extra hours outside the Wortham Center and rehearsals. Physically, you have to be in shape. Playing a Wagner opera, say, for six or seven hours, you just have to be physically fit. So I go to yoga and ride bikes. And that helps for me to be able to sustain a great level of playing during those long hours of performances.
I think everybody can find a personal connection with a work, a composer, an aria, or a character. That's the beauty of what we do. In every piece, it is different, and whether you love it, like it, or maybe don't care for, there is always going to be a moment that captivates you, that you connect on a different level rather than just playing the notes. We have a special connection with this art form, with this collaboration of so many different creative means.
HGO is a tour de force of opera companies in the U.S. and worldwide. I am proud at all times to work at HGO. At all times. You play, perform, and experience this mastery of all art forms combined. It just can't be touched. It's a really striking and lasting impression that you get. So, a proud feeling is always there.