Press Releases

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents a new Independence Day celebration "4th with the Phil" at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Thursday, July 4th, 2013

Pops concert featuring the Las Vegas Philharmonic orchestra conducted by MATT CATINGUB with guest vocalists CLINT HOLMES and KRISTEN HERTZENBERG to be held in Reynolds Hall at 7:30PM with audio simulcast into Symphony Park

Family fun day held in Symphony Park featuring live entertainment and food & beverage stalls from 4PM

Fireworks display over Symphony Park at 9PM

DISCOVERY Children’s Museum to offer free after-hours entry to all
4th with the Phil ticketholders from 5:30PM-7:30PM

TICKETS ON SALE MAY 13th
Pre-sale tickets for Symphony Park entry & the Reynolds Hall concert, including a limited number of VIP packages, go on sale Monday, May 13th from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will bring back and expand upon a beloved tradition in July when it presents a new Independence Day celebration called 4th with the Phil at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The celebration on Thursday, July 4th will include a family fun day held in Symphony Park from 4PM, a Pops concert held in Reynolds Hall at 7:30PM and a fireworks display at 9PM over the park, located in downtown Las Vegas. It will be the first Fourth of July concert in three years for the orchestra and marks its 15th birthday. Tickets go on sale on Monday, May 13th.

As an added attraction, DISCOVERY Children’s Museum that opened in Symphony Park’s Donald W. Reynolds Discovery Center adjacent to The Smith Center in March will generously offer free entry to 4th with the Phil ticketholders from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. All of the museum’s exhibits will be open including the three-story interactive feature The Summit, Fantasy Festival, Toddler Town, Water World, Solve It! Mystery Town and Young At Art. Special Independence Day activities will also be available.

4th with the Phil Pops Concert in Reynolds Hall, 7:30PM
Las Vegas-based conductor Matt Catingub, the acclaimed Artistic Director and founder of the Glendale Pops Orchestra and the newly-launched Hawaii Pops Ensemble in addition to the Pops Conductor for the New Hampshire Music Festival, will lead the orchestra in a celebratory symphonic Pops concert. The concert will conclude with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture performed during the fireworks display and the concert will feature two of Las Vegas’s most-beloved singers, Clint Holmes and Kristen Hertzenberg as special guest vocalists who will perform with Mr. Catingub who also sings and plays the saxophone.

Immediately prior to the performance of the 1812 Overture, concertgoers will have the opportunity to leave the hall to watch the fireworks display from the Reynolds Hall lobby or outside in Symphony Park. The fireworks display will be telecast onto the big screen in Reynolds Hall for those who choose to remain inside.

CONCERT TICKETS
Concert tickets are priced at $25, $50 and $75 and a limited number of VIP packages including box tier seats and entry to a pre-concert BBQ in the courtyard are available for $125 per person. Doors will open to Reynolds Hall at 6PM. All concert ticketholders will be permitted into Symphony Park from 4PM. All Reynolds Hall concessions will also be available to concertgoers.

Tickets on sale Monday, May 13th from The Smith Center Box Office, phone (702) 749-2000 or online at www.lvphil.org.

4th with the Phil in Symphony Park, 4PM-9:30PM
The day’s festivities will begin in Symphony Park at 4PM. People are encouraged to bring a blanket and enjoy live musical entertainment on the outdoor stage during the day. A variety of food and drink vendors will be onsite to provide July 4th favorites such as hot dogs, hamburgers, shaved ice, beverages and beer. More details about the outdoor stage performers and concessions will be released in June. (Note: No outside food or beverage, except bottled water, will be permitted into the park.) The Smith Center’s Boman Pavilion will be open throughout the day as a cooling station.

When the Las Vegas Philharmonic Pops concert begins in Reynolds Hall at 7:30PM, the music will be audio simulcast live out into the park. The day concludes at 9:00PM with a fireworks display over the park by Zambelli Fireworks.

SYMPHONY PARK TICKETS
Entry to Symphony Park will be $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 12 and under. Advance tickets on sale Monday, May 13th from The Smith Center Box Office, phone (702) 749-2000 or online at www.lvphil.org. Gate sales will be available on the day.

Born on the Fourth of July
The Las Vegas Philharmonic performed its inaugural concert on July 4th, 1998. It has previously held Fourth of July concerts at The Hills Park and at Springs Preserve. President & CEO Jeri Crawford says that following the orchestra’s first full season as a resident company in Reynolds Hall, it felt right for the Las Vegas Philharmonic to create a new community-focused, musical Fourth of July event that utilizes the (air-conditioned) hall but also expands into Symphony Park, reaching a wider audience.

“4th with the Phil not only adds another Pops concert to our already expanded concert season but provides the wider Las Vegas community with a family-focused event. As we celebrate our 15th birthday, we proudly proclaim to be “your” Las Vegas Philharmonic and so are willing to take on the financial challenges of presenting an event of this nature with the hope that it will become a new Las Vegas Independence Day tradition. And we are thrilled to bring back the fireworks! We are also delighted that our friends at DISCOVERY Children’s Museum are joining the party by opening their doors and helping us to foster our new cultural community in downtown Las Vegas.”

Individuals or companies interested in sponsoring 4th with the Phil are invited to contact Jeri Crawford at (702) 258-5438, ext. 221.

Las Vegas Philharmonic’s season finale concert ‘Celestial Bodies’ to feature HD images from space screened during a performance of Holst’s The Planets on Saturday, May 4th

Concert opens with Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 and Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde conducted by David Lockington

Tickets $46-$94 available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

The Las Vegas Philharmonic’s final concert for the 2012-13 season on Saturday, May 4th at 8:00 p.m. in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center will be out of this world, with a special presentation of The Planets: An HD Odyssey screened while the orchestra performs Gustav Holst’s masterwork, The Planets. The concert will be conducted by David Lockington and The Planets will feature the voices of the women of the Las Vegas Master Singers, directed by Jocelyn Jensen.

The Planets is a seven-movement orchestral suite composed by Gustav Holst between 1914 and 1916. The work is widely performed and recorded by orchestras worldwide and was last performed by the Las Vegas Philharmonic in 2005. In 2010, the Houston Symphony premiered The Planets: An HD Odyssey, the DVD accompaniment to the score that it commissioned. The DVD was created by filmmaker Duncan Copp, best known for his work on the 2007 award-winning documentary In the Shadow of the Moon, in cooperation with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratories. It has since been performed by the Houston Symphony at Carnegie Hall and in Europe and by other orchestras around the country. It features high definition images of the planets and solar system, including footage taken during recent space explorations, synchronized to the orchestral suites.

Holst’s inspiration for The Planets was astrological, not astronomical, reflected in the names of the movements such as “Mars – Bringer of War” and the absence of Earth. (Pluto is also absent, having not been discovered at the time Holst composed the work.) For some classical music aficionados the inclusion of space exploration photography may rankle, however reviews of performances have been extremely positive, complimenting the high quality and spectacular nature of the images and acknowledging the music’s film score-like characteristics.

The presentation of The Planets will take up the entire second half of the concert that will open with Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297/300a, known as the “Paris” symphony and Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, conducted by guest conductor David Lockington. Mr. Lockington was recently appointed Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony and is also the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Modesto Symphony. Mr. Lockington also has a close relationship with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain and in February 2012 was named the orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor. He will present a pre-concert talk in Reynolds Hall at 7:15 p.m. that is open to all ticket-holders.

The ‘Celestial Bodies’ concert concludes the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s first full season as a resident company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which was themed “A Year in Pictures.” The orchestra recently announced details of its 2013-14 season, “Love Your Las Vegas Philharmonic,” which will start on September 28th, 2013. Subscriptions to the 2013-14 season are now on sale.

TICKETS
Tickets for ‘Celestial Bodies’ are priced from $46 to $94 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online by following the links at www.lvphil.org. The Las Vegas Philharmonic offers a 50% discount to students with I.D. Group discounts are also available.

CALENDAR EDITORS:
Saturday, May 4, 8:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘Celestial Bodies’
Masterworks Series V – Season Finale
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue
Pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m. in Reynolds Hall

Las Vegas Philharmonic
David Lockington, conductor
Women of the Las Vegas Master Singers (Jocelyn Jensen, director)

Program:
MOZART - Symphony No. 31 in D major, K297/300a, “Paris”
WAGNER - Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan & Isolde
HOLST - The Planets

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
High res photos of the planets from the film, the guest conductor and musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com.

Las Vegas Philharmonic announces 2013-14 season, the largest in its history, celebrating the orchestra’s 15th anniversary

Love-themed season features five Masterworks Series concerts and five Pops Series concerts presented over 12 performances September 2013 through May 2014

Music Director search to continue throughout the 2013-14 season with returning candidates and new guest conductors engaged for concerts

Season Highlights:
Opening Night concert on September 28, 2013 called “Operatic Love” to feature concert performances of beloved opera arias and orchestral music

The 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy commemorated & the 150th Anniversary of Nevada’s statehood celebrated in Masterworks Series concerts

Las Vegas to host the 14th Primrose International Viola Competition for the first time in January 2014 with the winner performing with the Las Vegas Philharmonic

Two screenings of the classic film, Casablanca, with live orchestral accompaniment presented over Valentine’s Day weekend, February 15, 2014

The Rat Pack is back! Vintage Las Vegas-themed Pops Series program April 5th, 2014

Subscription ticket packages available from The Smith Center Patron Services,702.749.2000.
10% discount on all subscriptions booked by July 1st

The Las Vegas Philharmonic invites audiences to Love Your Las Vegas Philharmonic during its 2013-14 season announced today. The season marks the orchestra’s 15th anniversary and will be the biggest season it has ever presented with five Masterworks Series concerts and five Pops Series concerts and a total of 12 performances. A resident company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, all concerts will be performed in the 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall. Subscription ticket packages are on sale now to renewing subscribers and the general public. Tickets for individual 2013-14 season concerts will go on sale on July 22, 2013.

The 2013-14 season will bring an additional Pops Series concert to Reynolds Hall, building on the audience growth of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s first full season at The Smith Center. Two of the Pops Series concerts, “We Love the Holidays!” and “Love on the Big Screen: Casablanca” will include 2:00 p.m. matinee performances in addition to evening performances. All evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. with Masterworks Series pre-concert conversations taking place at 6:45 p.m.

Each of the 10 concerts in the 2013-14 season invite audiences to Love Your Las Vegas Philharmonic. The season will open on September 28, 2013 with concerts presented monthly through to May 17, 2014.

“The response from audiences to our first season as a resident company of The Smith Center was exceptional and we are responding to that with an additional Pops Series concert for this, our largest season ever,” says LV Philharmonic President & CEO Jeri Crawford. “Programming a season is about finding a balance between the serious classical music performed by top talents in the Masterworks Series and the lighter side of classical music with the more fun-focused Pops Series. Las Vegas audiences have responded enthusiastically to both sides of our musical personality and we hope to continue to engage and entertain audiences with this love-themed season.”

Guest conductors have been engaged for the 2013-14 season as the orchestra continues its Music Director search. Conductors invited to return to Las Vegas following successful debut performances are Case Scaglione (September 28 – “Operatic Love”), Steven Jarvi (November 23 - “Love of Country”) and Bob Bernhardt (December 7 – “We Love the Holidays!”) New conductors engaged for the season are Stuart Chafetz (October 12 – “Dancing & Romancing”), Donato Cabrera (January 18 – “Battle Born – Nevada Proud!”), Matt Catingub (April 5 – “Love Vintage Las Vegas Style”), Alondra de la Parra (April 26 – “Love Around the World”) and Sarah Hicks (May 17 – “Paris, Je T’aime.”) Conductors for one Masterworks Series concert and one Pops Series concert are yet to be appointed, giving the orchestra the opportunity to invite people back or to engage new candidates.

“The response from the guest conductors to what we are doing and how we play has been extremely positive,” says Mrs. Crawford. “Apart from having a wonderful new hall to perform in, they are discovering that our musicians and this organization are in the middle of an exciting growth period and they want to be a part of this. We have said from the start of this process that there would be no set time period for concluding this search. We look forward to working with the returning conductors and also welcoming new talents as we continue to find the right fit for our musicians, our organization and our community.”

LOVE YOUR LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC
Masterworks Series 2013-14

The season begins with “Operatic Love,” a grand opening night celebration on September 28th, 2013 that pays tribute to the passion and pathos of opera featuring some of the most ardent arias composed by masters such as Puccini, Verdi and Mozart and conducted by returning guest conductor Case Scaglione. The concert will be preceded by a celebratory cocktail party at 6:00 p.m.(advance booking required for party; $100 per ticket; concert admission separate.)

In addition to being the orchestra’s 15th anniversary, two other occasions are marked during the season: on November 23rd the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is commemorated with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” (“Heroic”) and Peter Lieberson’s Remembering JFK ‘An American Elegy’ that was commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of JFK’s inauguration. This concert, called “Love of Country,” will be conducted by Steven Jarvi and will also honor service men and women, past and present; and on January 18th, 2014 the orchestra celebrates the 150th anniversary of Nevada’s statehood with “Battle Born-Nevada Proud!,” a concert featuring the talents of two classical music stars with strong Nevada ties, conductor Donato Cabrera who is a University of Nevada, Reno graduate and Nevada-born, Grammy Award-winning composer Eric Whitacre. January also brings the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition to Las Vegas for the first time in its 35-year history with the winner performing at this concert.

The Masterworks Series will also revel in romance with Tchaikovsky’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Rising Star soloist, Alexander Schimpf on March 8th. Love’s ability to transcend borders is demonstrated with Latin American flair in a concert called “Love Around the World” conducted by Alondra de la Parra and featuring classical guitarist, Pablo Sáinz Villegas on April 27th, 2014. This concert also presents a Russian composer’s impressions of the fairy-tale wonders of the East with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

LOVE YOUR LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC
Pops Series 2013-14

Enchanting Pops Series programs include the fancy footwork of “Dancing & Romancing” inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and conducted by Stuart Chafetz October 12th, 2013; the return of our annual orchestral celebration of the holidays and the return of conductor Bob Bernhardt for two performances of “We Love the Holidays!” on December 7th; two special Valentine’s weekend screenings of the classic film “Casablanca” with full orchestral accompaniment on February 15th, 2014; and a swinging celebration of “Love Vintage Las Vegas Style” featuring Rat Pack-era favorites conducted and performed by Matt Catingub with vocalist Anita Hall on April 5th, 2014. The season concludes on May 17th, 2014 with “Paris, Je T’aime!” an evening of musical l’amour conducted by Sarah Hicks.

Subscription Ticket Packages
Subscribers can subscribe to the complete 10-concert season or to the five-concert Masterworks Series or the five-concert Pops Series. Subscribing secures you the same seat at each concert throughout the season. The highest priced ticket is $94 (A level) and a new low ticket price of $25 for selected balcony seats (D level) will be offered as a subscription package. All subscriptions booked by July 1st, 2013 will receive a 10% discount. Individual tickets will go on sale on July 22, 2013.

Subscription packages can be purchased from The Smith Center Patron Services, phone 702.749.2000, in person at the box office or online from www.lvphil.org. Current subscribers and concert-goers can also renew or purchase a new subscription in person at the final concert of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s 2012-13 season on May 4th in the Reynolds Halls foyer. General questions about the 2013-14 season can be directed to the Las Vegas Philharmonic at 702.258.5438.

Bus Service
The Las Vegas Philharmonic offers shuttle buses to The Smith Center from Summerlin (Starbright Theatre, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd) and Henderson (Anthem Center at Independence Center 2460 Hampton Road.) Bus passes must be purchased in advance and can be obtained when purchasing concert tickets, or by calling The Smith Center Patron Services at 702.749.2000. Each bus pass costs $15 roundtrip per concert.

About the Las Vegas Philharmonic
The 2013-14 season marks the 15th anniversary of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Southern Nevada’s only professional symphony orchestra, and the second full season as a resident company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts that opened in March 2012. At the orchestra’s core is 76 contracted professional musicians, many of whom are esteemed educators and who perform in other professional productions in Las Vegas, bringing depth and variety to the organization.

Since it was founded in 1998 by founding Music Director and Conductor Laureate Harold Weller and long-time Las Vegas arts supporters Susan and Andrew Tompkins, the Las Vegas Philharmonic has made a bold stake for artistic credibility with its first-ever concert a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection” in 1999. This devotion to classical music continues with the five-concert Masterworks Series bringing top soloists and conductors to Las Vegas. The orchestra also presents a Pops Series which will increase to five concerts in the 2013-14 season over seven performances, reflecting the growth of the organization in its new performance home.

Involving children and young people in the appreciation of music has been a top priority for the organization from its inception. The orchestra presents a Youth Concert Series of free concerts for fourth and fifth graders in January which in 2013 brought over 13,000 children into Reynolds Hall. Over the past 15 years, this series has reached over 160,000 young people. The Philharmonic also holds an annual Young Artists’ Concerto Competition with winners given the chance to perform with the orchestra. Throughout the season the Philharmonic invites local music and choir groups to perform with it, strengthening its connection to the community.

A seven-time recipient of the Best Performing Arts Group award in the annual Best of Las Vegas poll, the Las Vegas Philharmonic has already had an extraordinary impact on the cultural and educational life of Southern Nevada and looks forward to continued growth and reach.
www.lvphil.org

LOVE YOUR LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC
2013-14 SEASON CONCERT CALENDER

All concerts are held in Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Drive, Las Vegas, NV

Saturday, September 28, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Masterworks Series I: OPERATIC LOVE
Pre-concert conversation 6:45 p.m.
Opening Night Cocktail Party 6:00 p.m.
Party tickets $100; Advanced reservations required; Concert admission additional.

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Case Scaglione, conductor
Singers to be announced

Opening night celebration featuring arias from beloved works by opera masters such as Puccini, Verdi and Mozart alongside orchestral showpieces including Verdi’s triumphal march from Aida, Wagner’s Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin and Richard Strauss’s Rosenkavalier Suite.


Saturday, October 12, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Pops Series I: DANCING & ROMANCING

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Stuart Chafetz, conductor
Joan Hess, singer/dancer
Kirby Ward, singer/dancer

Inspired by one of the silver screen’s most dynamic duos, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, Dancing & Romancing is a celebration of 1930s Broadway and Hollywood featuring the music of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and George Gershwin.


Saturday, November 23, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Masterworks Series II: LOVE OF COUNTRY
Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy honoring service men & women, past & present
Pre-concert conversation 6:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Steven Jarvi, conductor

Bernstein Fanfare for the Inauguration of JFK
Lieberson Remembering JFK, “An American Elegy”
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica”


Saturday, December 7, 2013, 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Pops Series II: WE LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Bob Bernhardt, conductor
Las Vegas Master Singers (Jocelyn Jensen, Director)
More guests to be announced

This boisterous celebration of the holidays will include festive favorites alongside orchestral and choral works including tasty gingerbread morsels from Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel and the sugarplum sweetness of the musical score of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, culminating in our traditional audience sing-along.


Saturday, January 18, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Masterworks Series III: BATTLE BORN-NEVADA PROUD!
Celebration of the 150th anniversary of Nevada’s statehood
Pre-concert conversation 6:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Donato Cabrera, conductor
Winner of the 14th Primrose International Viola Competition

Shostakovich Festive Overture in A major, Op. 96
Christian Colberg Aldonza concert piece for viola and orchestra
Britten “Four Sea Interludes” from Peter Grimes
Eric Whitacre Equus
Debussy La mer


Saturday, February 15, 2014, 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Pops Series III: LOVE ON THE BIG SCREEN: CASABLANCA

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Conductor to be announced

A special Valentine’s weekend presentation of one of the cinema’s most iconic love stories, Casablanca. Spend a romantic Saturday afternoon or evening at Rick's Café Américain with this dynamic new presentation of the timeless classic featuring the full-length film screened with Max Steiner’s lush orchestral score performed live by the Las Vegas Philharmonic from the stage.


Saturday, March 8, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Masterworks Series IV: RISING STAR
Pre-concert conversation 6:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Alexander Schimpf, piano
Conductor & additional repertoire to be announced

Winner of the prestigious 2011 Cleveland Piano Competition and first prize winner of the 2009 International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, this season’s Rising Star soloist German pianist Alexander Schimpf will perform Tchaikovsky’s revered Piano Concerto No. 1 in a program dedicated to the melodies and music of the Romantic era.


Saturday, April 5, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Pops IV: LOVE VINTAGE LAS VEGAS STYLE

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Matt Catingub, conductor, vocals, saxophone
Anita Hall, vocals
Steve Moretti, drums

A swinging evening featuring big band favorites made famous by Rat Packers Sammy Davis Jr. (A Lot of Livin’ To Do, What Kind of Fool Am I), Dean Martin (Everybody Loves Somebody, That’s Amore, Standing On the Corner) and the most famous crooner of them all, Frank Sinatra (I’ve Got the World On A String, Night & Day, Moonlight In Vermont). Add some magic with signature songs by Louis Prima and Keely Smith (That Old Black Magic, What Is This Thing Called Love?) and you’ve got yourself one swell party!


Saturday, April 26, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Masterworks V: LOVE AROUND THE WORLD
Pre-concert conversation 6:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Alondra de la Parra, conductor
Pablo Sáinz Villegas, classical guitar

Marquez Danzon No. 2
Castro Intermezzo de Atzimba
Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

Alondra de la Parra, leads a passionate program including music from Ricardo Castro’s 1900 Mexican opera about doomed love, Atzimba, and Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez featuring sensational classical guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas. The second half is dedicated to Rimsky-Korsakov’s re-telling of the turbulent Arabian Nights tale, Scheherazade.


Saturday, May 17, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Pops V: PARIS JE T'AIME

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Patrick Harison, accordion

We say au revoir to the 2013-14 season with an amorous musical romp around Paris featuring French favorites such as Debussy’s Claire de lune, Jacques Brel’s Ne me quitte pas as well as Colombo’s accordion-laced Indifference and Passion.

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
Photos of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductors and guest artists are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com, phone (702) 510-4363.

Thirty-two high school musicians of the Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble to perform with the Las Vegas Philharmonic at The Smith Center on Saturday, April 6

Tickets $25-$94 available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

The Las Vegas Philharmonic has called in reinforcements from the city’s top brass for its Masterworks Series concert on Saturday, April 6 at 8:00 p.m. at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Thirty-two members of the Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble comprised of the best players from high schools throughout the district will help the orchestra celebrate the brilliant and blazing sounds of brass instruments in a concert called ‘A Touch of Brass.’ The young musicians will perform Gabrieli’s Canzon Septimi Toni 2 with the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s own brass section, with a total of 44 musicians performing the three-minute piece conducted by Daniel Meyer.

Brass section instruments include the trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba. The canzon (“song” in Italian) was composed by Giovanni Gabrieli for the majestic St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, where he was organist and principal composer from 1585 until his death. Gabrieli’s brass compositions incorporate a call-and-response antiphonal technique that will see the musicians placed around Reynolds Hall to create a spectacular surround-sound experience.

The performance with the Clark Country Honor Brass Ensemble musicians, who are directed by Phillip Haines, is another way that the Las Vegas Philharmonic connects with young musicians in the community. In addition to performing, the brass players will be given free tickets to the concert which features two of the world’s pre-eminent trumpet players and teachers, Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer, as guest artists. Ms. Butler and Mr. Geyer will perform an arrangement of excerpts from Bizet’s Carmen that was written especially for them. The concert program also features Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 and Barber’s Overture to School for Scandal.

Earlier this year the Las Vegas Philharmonic, voted Best Performing Arts Group in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s 2013 Best of Las Vegas readers’ poll, performed eight free concerts attended by over 13,000 fourth and fifth graders as part of its annual Youth Concert Series. The Las Vegas Philharmonic recently received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Clark County School District acknowledging its efforts in engaging the community.

‘A Touch of Brass’ is the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s second-to-last concert of the 2012-13 season. The season concludes on Saturday, May 4 with the final Masterworks concert ‘Celestial Bodies’ featuring Holst’s The Planets.

TICKETS
Tickets are priced from $25 to $94 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online by following the links at www.lvphil.org.
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CALENDAR EDITORS:
Saturday, April 6, 8:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘A Touch of Brass’
Masterworks Series IV
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue
Pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m. in Reynolds Hall

Las Vegas Philharmonic

Daniel Meyer, conductor
Barbara Butler, trumpet
Charles Geyer, trumpet
Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble
Phillip Haines, director; Rick McEnaney, coordinator

Program:
GABRIELI - Canzon Septimi Toni 2
BRAHMS - Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
BARBER - Overture to School for Scandal
BIZET/arr. Hunsberger - Carmen Fantasia

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, guest artists and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com.

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents Masterworks IV: 'A Touch of Brass'

A celebration of brass instruments featuring internationally acclaimed trumpet duo Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer conducted by Daniel Meyer, Saturday, April 6 in Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Special appearance by the Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble

Concert also features Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 & Barber’s Overture to School for Scandal

Tickets $46-$94 available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

Two of the world’s pre-eminent trumpet players and teachers, Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer, will add star power to a Las Vegas Philharmonic concert that celebrates the exciting and powerful sounds of brass instruments on Saturday, April 6 at 8:00 p.m. in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Butler and Mr. Geyer will provide an exhilarating finale to the concert performing a new arrangement of melodies from Bizet’s hot-blooded opera Carmen with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and guest conductor Daniel Meyer. This arrangement was commissioned especially for them to showcase their trumpet talents and features some of the popular opera’s most rousing themes including the Fanfare, Entr’acte to Act IV, Flower Duet, Entry of the Gypsies, Children’s Chorus, Habanera and Toreador Song.

Boisterous brass performances book-end the Masterworks Series concert that will open with a special appearance by 30 members of the Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble playing Gabrielli’s Canzon Septimi Toni 2.

Two significant works well-deserving of the “masterworks” moniker round-out the concert program: Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 and Barber’s Overture to School for Scandal. The second and third movements of the Brahms symphony have been described as some of his most personal and intimate, and the soulful theme of the third movement has been widely used in popular music, including, Take My Love which was a hit song for Frank Sinatra. Samuel Barber’s Overture to School for Scandal was composed in 1931 when he was just 21, heralding the arrival of a brilliant new talent on the American music scene.

‘A Touch of Brass’ is the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s second-to-last concert of the 2012-13 season. The season concludes on Saturday, May 4 with ‘Celestial Bodies’ featuring Holst’s The Planets.

Guest Artists

Guest conductor Daniel Meyer is Music Director of the Asheville Symphony and Erie Philharmonic, reinvigorating both orchestras with his innovative programs, engaging presence and keen musical intellect. He currently also serves as Artistic Director of the Westmoreland Symphony.

Trumpet students around the world clamor to learn from accomplished performers and pedagogues Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer. Currently Professors of Trumpet at Northwestern University, where they have taught since 1998, Ms. Butler and Mr. Geyer (who are husband and wife) will join Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in July 2013.

TICKETS
Tickets are priced from $46 to $94 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online by following the links at www.lvphil.org.

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CALENDAR EDITORS:
Saturday, April 6, 8:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘A Touch of Brass’
Masterworks Series IV
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue
Pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m. in Reynolds Hall

Las Vegas Philharmonic

Daniel Meyer, conductor
Barbara Butler, trumpet
Charles Geyer, trumpet
Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble

Program:
GABRIELI Canzon Septimi Toni 2
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
BARBER Overture to School for Scandal
BIZET/arr. Hunsberger Carmen Fantasia

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, guest artists and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com.

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents 'Lights, Camera...... The Oscars!' Saturday March 9

An evening of Academy Award-winning & nominated film scores & songs conducted by Randall Craig Fleischer with guest vocalists Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler, Saturday, March 9 in Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets $46-$94 available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

Motion picture musical memories will be the winner on Saturday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. when the Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘Lights, Camera…… The Oscars!’ in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Guest conductor Randall Craig Fleischer will lead the orchestra in a cinematic program of Oscar-winning and nominated music and songs.

The orchestra and Mr. Fleischer will be joined by acclaimed Broadway performers Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler who will sing some of the most beloved movie songs ranging from The Trolley Song (Meet Me In St. Louis), Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz) and Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) through to more modern favorites such as A Whole New World (Aladdin) and My Heart Will Go On (Titanic). In addition to the songs, the concert will feature an orchestral tribute to five-time Oscar winner and 48-time nominee, composer John Williams, the iconic themes from Gone With the Wind, Chariots of Fire and Rocky, and musical medleys. (Full program details follow.)

‘Lights, Camera…… The Oscars!’ is the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s fourth and final Pops Series concert for the 2012-13 season: “This season’s Pops concerts have provided some very memorable moments in Reynolds Hall this season, from the love-struck Charlie Chaplin in the film City Lights, to the festive fun including the Mayors Goodman on stage with us at ‘A Very Vegas Holiday’. Pops concerts provide our audiences with an exciting and accessible family-friendly experience at which your Las Vegas Philharmonic can be enjoyed,” says President & CEO Jeri Crawford.

The third Pops Series concert, ‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’ takes place on February 16 and the orchestra’s first full concert season in Reynolds Hall concludes on April 6 and May 4 with the final two Masterworks Series concerts.

Guest Artists
Guest conductor for ‘Lights, Camera…… The Oscars!’ Randall Craig Fleischer has appeared with many major orchestras in the United States and internationally. Active as a composer and arranger, Mr. Fleischer is a national leader in the area of symphonic rock and world music fusion. His works and arrangements have been played by many major orchestras including the Boston Pops, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, China Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, National Symphony and many others. Recently, he premiered his ground-breaking original composition, Triumph, combining ceremonial Navajo songs and dances in a full orchestral work. Mr. Fleischer’s latest commission, ECHOES, premiered with the Anchorage Symphony in October, 2008, followed by an East Coast premiere at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

From the opera stage to Broadway, Teri Dale Hansen has received international recognition for her crossover abilities as a singing actress. Recognized worldwide as an interpreter of Kurt Weill, she was the first American ever to perform at the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau in 1995. She made her Broadway debut in The Boys from Syracuse and performed on London’s West End as Magnolia in Hal Prince’s Tony Award-winning production of Show Boat. Miss. Hansen has performed concerts nationwide with the late Marvin Hamlisch and starred in the Broadway national tours of The Music Man, Camelot and Show Boat.

Nat Chandler is known to theatre and concert audiences around the country. On Broadway he starred in the title role of Sir Percival Blakeney in the Tony-nominated musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and has played leading roles in a broad spectrum of American musicals and operettas across the country. As a concert performer, Mr. Chandler has appeared as a soloist with symphonies in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Colorado Springs, Tucson, Kansas City, Utah, Arizona, Oregon Symphony and more.

TICKETS
Tickets are priced from $46 to $94 (plus fees) and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online by following the links at www.lvphil.org. ‘Lights, Camera…… The Oscars!’ is included in a four-concert Mini Series Subscription currently offered by the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Mini Series subscriptions can be purchased by phone, (702) 749-2000 or online.

CALENDAR EDITORS:
Saturday, March 9, 8:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘Lights, Camera…… The Oscars!’
Pops Series IV
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue

Randall Craig Fleischer, conductor
Teri Dale Hansen, soprano
Nat Chandler, baritone

Las Vegas Philharmonic

PROGRAM:
Tara's Theme
Max Steiner, Arr. Frank Campbell
from GONE WITH THE WIND
Best Original Score Nominee 1939

The Trolley Song
Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin, Arr. Wayne Barker
from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
Best Original Song Nominee 1944

The Way You Look Tonight
Jerome Kern, Arr. Wayne Barker
from SWING TIME
Best Original Song Winner 1936

I've Got You Under My Skin
Cole Porter, Arr. Wayne Barker
from BORN TO DANCE
Best Original Song Nominee 1936

Over the Rainbow
Harold Arlen, Arr. Richard Hayman
from THE WIZARD OF OZ
Best Original Song Winner 1939

EVITA Highlights
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Arr. Calvin Custer
Best Original Song Winner 1996

Don't Rain On My Parade
Jule Styne, Arr. Richard Hayman
from FUNNY GIRL
Best Song Score Nominee 1968

Gigi
Frederick Loewe, Arr. John Russo
from GIGI
Best Original Song Winner 1958

A Whole New World
Alan Menken, Arr. Danny Troob
from ALADDIN
Best Original Song Winner 1992

Let The River Run
Carly Simon, Arr. Rick Bassett
from WORKING GIRL
Best Original Song Winner 1988

INTERMISSION

Tribute to John Williams
John Williams
Stars Wars/Jaws/Superman/Harry Potter/E.T.As of Feb 6, Winner of 5 Academy Awards;
Nominated 48 times

Moon River
Henry Mancini, Arr. Wayne Barker
from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S
Best Original Song Winner 1961

Days of Wine and Roses
Henry Mancini, Arr. Richard Hayman
From DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
Best Original Song Winner 1962

Victor Victoria Medley
Henry Mancini
Best Original Song Score Winner 1982

Chariots of Fire
Vangelis, Arr. Jim Riley
Best Original Score Winner 1981

Rocky Highlights
Bill Conti, Arr. Robert Lowden
Best Original Song Nominee 1976

Unchained Melody
Alex North, Hy Zaret, Arr. Eric Walton
from GHOST
Best Original Score Nominee 1990

My Heart Will Go On
James Horner, Arr. Wayne Barker
from TITANIC
Best Original Song Winner 1997

(I've Had) The Time of My Life Previte, DeNicola, Markowitz, Arr. Joseph Joubert
from DIRTY DANCING
Best Original Song Winner 1987

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, guest vocalists and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
www.lvphil.org
www.randallcraigfleischer.com
www.terihansen.net
www.natchandler.com

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents 'Mardi Gras in Las Vegas'

An evening of sizzling New Orleans jazz performed by the orchestra with acclaimed trumpeter and vocalist Byron Stripling and guest conductor Steven Jarvi on Saturday, February 16 in Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets $46-$94 available from The Smith Center Box Office,
Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

There may still be a chill in the air in February but the music will be scorching hot in Reynolds Hall on Saturday, February 16 when the Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’, an evening of New Orleans jazz. The orchestra will transform into a giant swinging jazz band for the night, led by guest conductor Steven Jarvi in a concert starring acclaimed trumpeter and vocalist, Byron Stripling. Adding extra Mardi Gras flair to the performance will be Bobby Floyd on the Hammond B3 organ and renowned percussionist Bob Breithaupt.

“Las Vegas’s rich entertainment history boasts some of the most swinging big bands and sizzling jazz ensembles in American music history. With ‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’ and the incredible talents of Byron Stripling the Las Vegas Philharmonic hopes to recapture some of that musical magic,” says President & CEO, Jeri Crawford.

The program for the concert, the third in the orchestra’s Pop Series, will feature orchestral arrangements of popular Mardi Gras tunes and jazz standards including Bourbon Street Parade, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Down By the Riverside, Jelly Roll Morton’s Jungle Blues and Black Bottom Stomp, What A Wonderful World and a medley of songs made famous by revered vocalist Mahalia Jackson, among many others.

Mr. Stripling is currently the artistic director and conductor of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra based in Ohio. He also leads his own quartet and is in demand around the world for pops concerts. Renowned as an extroverted and charismatic performer who exudes happiness through his instrument and voice, his sound has been compared to Louis Armstrong while remaining distinctly his own. He began his musical career performing with famed bandleader Lionel Hampton. He then went on to perform with the Woody Herman Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra, proving to be a superb lead player and colorful soloist. In 1988 he won the lead role in the musical Satchmo: America’s Music Legend a tribute to Louis Armstrong, including performances at the Kennedy Center Opera House. In 1989 Mr. Stripling performed for the first time with the Boston Pops and conductor John Williams and has since made numerous acclaimed appearances with orchestras throughout the U.S. He has been in his current role at the Jazz Arts Group since 2002.

Mr. Stripling will be joined on stage by two of his fellow Columbus Jazz Orchestra musicians, Bobby Floyd on the Hammond B3 organ and percussionist and former Jazz Arts Group executive director, Bob Breithaupt.

The concert will be conducted by Steven Jarvi, the sixth guest conductor to take the podium this season. Mr. Jarvi is currently the music director of Winter Opera St. Louis and recently completed a four-season appointment as associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony during which time he led over 150 performances including the orchestra’s Family, Young People’s, Education and Pops series concerts.

TICKETS
Tickets are priced from $46 to $94 (plus fees) and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online at www.lvphil.org.

‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’ is also included in a four-concert Mini Series Subscription currently offered by the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Subscriptions purchased before January 31st save 15%. Mini Series subscriptions can be purchased by phone, (702) 749-2000 or online.

CALENDAR EDITORS:
Saturday, February 16, 8:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’
Pops Series III
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue

Steven Jarvi, conductor
Byron Stripling, trumpet, vocals
Bobby Floyd, Hammond B3 organ
Bob Breithaupt, drum set

Program:
After You’ve Gone
Bourbon Street Parade
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Basin Street Blues
Saint James Infirmary
Medley: I Want A Lil Girl/Please Don’t Talk About Me
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
Down By The Riverside

Interval

Flee As A Bird
Jungle Blues
Black Bottom Stomp
Battle Hymn Of The Republic
Blueberry Hill
What A Wonderful World
12 Gates To The City
Mahalia Jackson Medley
He’s Got The Whole World/Just A Closer Walk
When The Saints Go Marchin’ In

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, Steven Jarvi, and guest artist, Byron Stripling and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com.

Mr. Stripling and Mr. Jarvi are available for phone interviews.

Las Vegas Philharmonic launches ‘Mini Series’ subscription package for the final four concerts of its 2012-13 season

Subscriptions booked before January 31st receive a 15% discount

Mini Series Subscriptions available from The Smith Center Box Office,
Phone (702) 749-2000 or book online at thesmithcenter.com

The Las Vegas Philharmonic is offering a ‘Mini Series’ subscription package that gives ticket buyers a 15% discount on tickets for each of its final four concerts of the 2012-13 season. The performances will be held in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center from February through May, 2013. Subscriptions purchased before January 31st will be sold at with 15% discount offered across three ticket price-points.

Following its next concert on Saturday, January 12, the orchestra will be just over half-way through its current nine concert season which is its first full season in Reynolds Hall as a resident company of The Smith Center. By purchasing tickets to all four concerts at once, the Mini Series subscription secures patrons a seat at each of the concerts and also entitles them to other subscriber benefits including a ticket exchange program and notification of special events and concerts.

“If you have not experienced your Las Vegas Philharmonic in Reynolds Hall so far this concert season, the Mini Series subscription is an excellent introduction to all that we do,” says Jeri Crawford, LV Philharmonic President & CEO. “With two of our fun, family-friendly Pops Series concerts alongside two of our Masterworks Series concerts featuring some of the most beloved works of the classical music repertoire, these final four events offer something for classical music aficionados and newcomers alike.”

The four concerts included in the Mini Series subscription package are:

Pops Series III: Mardi Gras in Las Vegas
Saturday, February 16, 8:00 p.m.
Let the good times roll with a scorching hot night of New Orleans jazz featuring charismatic trumpeter and singer, Byron Stripling in a concert led by guest conductor Steven Jarvi.

Pops Series IV: Lights, Camera, The Oscars!
Saturday March 9, 8:00 p.m.
An evening of movie music featuring grand orchestral performances of beloved film favorites with Oscar-winning songs performed by Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler, led by guest conductor Randall Craig Fleischer.

Masterworks Series IV: A Touch of Brass
Saturday, April 6, 8:00 p.m.
This concert is a mighty pairing of brass and Brahms that will showcase the talents of world-renowned trumpet duo Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer and features a special performance by the Clark County School District Honor Brass Ensemble. Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 and Barber’s Overture to School for Scandal are featured on a program that will be led by guest conductor Daniel Meyer.

Masterworks Series V: Celestial Bodies
Saturday, May 4, 8:00 p.m.
The grand finale for the season promises to be out of this world! Gustav Holst’s The Planets is one of the most beloved works in the classical repertoire and in this, the Philharmonic’s ‘Year of Pictures’ the performance will be enhanced by high definition images from space. David Lockington conducts and the Women from the Las Vegas Master Singers will be featured in the performance of The Planets.

The three Mini Series subscription ticket price-points offered are:

Before January 31st (15% discount):
A section seats - $321.40 ($80.35 per concert)
B section seats - $219.40 ($54.85 per concert)
C section seats - $158.20 ($39.55 per concert)

Mini Series subscriptions purchased after January 31st will be sold at the full ticket rate:
A section seats - $376.00 ($94.00 per concert)
B section seats - $256.00 ($64.00 per concert)
C section seats - $184.00 ($46.00 per concert)

Seating charts available online at lvphil.com and thesmithcenter.com

Mini Series Subscriptions are available to purchase by phone from The Smith Center Box Office, (702) 749-2000, or online.

Single tickets to all concerts available from The Smith Center Box Office.

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PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
More information about all Las Vegas Philharmonic events, including photos and biographies of the guest artists and conductors, are available from Jennifer Scott, news@lvphil.com.

Las Vegas Philharmonic to perform for over 13,000 schoolchildren and showcase young Las Vegas musicians at its Youth Concert Series Jan 11, 14, 15 & 16

Over 13,000 fourth and fifth graders from 115 Las Vegas schools will experience a free symphony orchestra performance this month when the Las Vegas Philharmonic presents its 14th annual Youth Concert Series. This year’s series consists of eight concerts held over four days, Friday, January 11, Monday, January 14, Tuesday, January 15 and Wednesday, January 16 in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The concerts will be led by guest conductor, Taras Krysa and feature winners of the Philharmonic’s Young Artists’ Concerto Competition as soloists.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will perform two concerts daily at 10:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. with each concert attended by 1,650 children. Since its inception in 1999, the Las Vegas Philharmonic has introduced close to 150,000 young people to classical music through this series and it remains an extremely popular program. Despite increasing to four days and eight concerts this year from three days and six concerts, 21 schools had to be turned away as they could not be accommodated. The continued and expanded funding of the Youth Concert Series remains a priority for the Las Vegas Philharmonic and will be a major focus at its annual ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala being held on Friday, January 18 at Caesars Palace.

“The Youth Concert Series is one of the most visible and tangible ways in which the Las Vegas Philharmonic truly engages with our community,” says President & CEO, Jeri Crawford. “From its beginning the Las Vegas Philharmonic has felt compelled to promote music education in schools and we are thrilled to be able to introduce thousands of young children to live classical music and to the concert hall experience through this series. While it is exciting to be able to expand this series to eight concerts in Reynolds Hall this season, it is also heartbreaking that we have to turn schools down for this program. We would, of course, like to bring as many children into the concert hall as possible and it is our hope to raise funds to expand upon this program for future seasons.”

In addition to bringing children to concerts, the Youth Concert Series also brings music into the participating schools’ curriculum. Clark County elementary music teachers create classroom materials based on the music that is going to be performed at the concerts so that by the time the children reach the concert hall, they know about the music they are going to hear and about how a symphony orchestra works.

The Youth Concert Series also provides young musicians with an exceptional performance opportunity by having the winners of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s annual Young Artists’ Concerto Competition perform as soloists. In January, five young Las Vegas musicians will perform with the orchestra at these concerts. They will also be honored onstage at the Masterworks Series ‘Rising Star’ concert on Saturday, January 12.

This year’s Young Artists’ Concerto Competition performers are: Pianist Artem Aleksanyan, 17, CSN High School; Pianist Aida Badalian, 16, Odyssey Charter School; Violinist Liam Mansfield, 16, Las Vegas Academy; Violinist Emily Richardson, 12, Bob Miller Middle School; and percussionist John Melton, 17, Las Vegas Academy.

“For these young musicians, the Youth Concert Series provides an amazing opportunity to perform in a world-class concert hall with a full, professional symphony orchestra. It is also a wonderful way to show the children in the audience that classical music is not only performed by adults, but also by young people not much older than they are which helps to engage them further. It is important to us to not only entertain young audiences but to inspire them,” says Ms. Crawford.

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PRESS INFORMATION:

The Youth Concert Series concerts are not open to the public.

Members of the press are welcome to attend concerts, however filming or photographing the concert performances is not permitted without prior arrangement.

For more information about the Las Vegas Philharmonic Youth Concert Series please contact Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com, (702) 675-3610, (702) 510-4363 cell.

Las Vegas Philharmonic to showcase Rising Star violinist Elena Urioste in concert

Guest Conductor Alastair Willis to lead program of works by Mozart, Sibelius, Richard Strauss & Ravel in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets $46-$94 available from The Smith Center Box Office,
Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

In selecting violinist Elena Urioste to be the artist featured in this season’s ‘Rising Star’ concert on Saturday, January 12, the Las Vegas Philharmonic has not only captured a star on the ascent, but a veritable comet.
Each season the Las Vegas Philharmonic showcases a young artist at one of its Masterworks Series concerts. Twenty-five-year-old Elena was already qualified for rising star status, but her career received an extra boost in September when she was invited to join the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Scheme for 2012-2014. The scheme is a prestigious and highly sought-after honor that catapults young artists onto the international stage. Elena will perform concerts in London and around the UK, make appearances and recordings with the BBC Orchestras, take part in special studio recordings for Radio 3, and make an appearance at the Proms, an engagement that is considered a major milestone in a musician’s career.

“We already knew that Elena was a star-on-the-rise, and this new internationally-recognized honor affirms that she is a violinist that will soon be in high demand worldwide,” says Las Vegas Philharmonic President & CEO, Jeri Crawford. “We feel lucky to bring Elena to Las Vegas just as she enters this exciting new phase of her career and hope audiences will take this opportunity to hear her play with us.”

The BBC 3 New Generation Artists Scheme is the latest in a string of prestigious awards for Elena. She is a two-time winner of the Sphinx Competition having won first place in the junior division in 2003 when she was just 16 and then taking first place in the senior division in 2007 when she was 20. She was subsequently awarded the inaugural Sphinx Medal of Excellence and will serve as a jury member for the 2013 competition. The Sphinx Organization aims to transform lives through the power of diversity in the arts, encouraging the participation of Black and Latino artists in classical music. Elena, who was recently named one of Latina Magazine’s “Future Fifteen”, is also the recipient of the 2009 London Music Masters Award, a Salon de Virtuosi career grant, and she was a first-prize winner of the 2007 Sion International Violin Competition. Elena began playing the violin at just two-years-old, asking for the instrument after seeing Itzhak Perlman perform on an episode of Sesame Street. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and completed graduate studies at The Juilliard School.

Elena will make her Las Vegas Philharmonic debut performing Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47. The only concerto written by the Finnish composer, the piece was premiered in 1903 and revised by Sibelius in 1905. It is a demanding showcase for the soloist evoking a wintry feel with the third movement famously described as sounding like a “polonaise for polar bears.”

The guest conductor for the January 12th ‘Rising Star’ concert will be Grammy-nominated Alastair Willis who will open the concert leading the Philharmonic in Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni. The program will also feature Richard Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration and will conclude with Ravel’s eternally popular Boléro.

Alastair Willis is currently the Music Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Previous positions include Principal Guest Conductor with the Florida Orchestra’s Coffee Concert series, Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Assistant Conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, and Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.

In recent seasons, Seattle-based Mr. Willis has guest conducted with orchestras around the world including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de Rio de Janeiro, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, China National Orchestra, and the Silk Road Ensemble (with Yo-Yo Ma) among others. His recording of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges with the Nashville Symphony and Opera for the Naxos label was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2009.

TICKETS
Tickets are priced from $46 to $94 (plus fees) and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online at www.lvphil.org.

CALENDAR EDITORS:

Saturday, January 12, 8:00 p.m.

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘Rising Star: Elena Urioste’

Masterworks Series III
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue

Pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m. in Reynolds Hall

Alastair Willis, conductor
Elena Urioste, violin

Program*:
MOZART – Overture to Don Giovanni
SIBELIUS – Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 (feat. Elena Urioste)
Interval
Richard STRAUSS – Death & Transfiguration
RAVEL – Boléro

*Note: this program differs from what is featured in our season brochure

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, Alastair Willis, and guest artist, Elena Urioste and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com.

Both Elena and Mr. Willis are available for phone interviews prior to their arrival in Las Vegas.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

www.lvphil.org
www.elenaurioste.com
www.alastairwillis.com

Previous ‘Rising Star’ concerts by the Las Vega Philharmonic have featured the winner of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Haochen Zhang, and conductor, Alexander Prior.

VIDEO: Elena Urioste talks about being selected for the 2012-2014 BBC 3 New Generation Artists scheme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rot9R5tThlc

VIDEO: Elena Urioste performing ‘Romance’ by Amy Beach (with Michael Brown, piano): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mGVFSIkKQc

Las Vegas Philharmonic’s 14th Annual ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala to be held Friday, January 18 at Caesars Palace

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will hold its 14th annual ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala on Friday, January 18 at Caesars Palace. A glittering social event considered one of the jewels in the city’s social calendar, the gala is the orchestra’s biggest fundraising event of the season with the money raised benefiting the orchestra’s programs and enabling it to foster participation in music and the arts by children and young adults throughout Southern Nevada.

January’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala will have the theme of ‘A Night in Vienna’ and will include a cocktail party with silent auction, a live auction, dinner, a fashion presentation by Saks Fifth Avenue and a special Viennese-themed performance by members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Each year the Las Vegas Philharmonic selects a person, or people, to honor at the gala. For January’s event it has broken from tradition and will honor an organization, the Caesars Foundation, in recognition of its wide-reaching support of community groups and services, and its objectives to improve the quality of life in its operating communities and help older individuals live longer, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

“The Las Vegas Philharmonic is pleased to have been on the receiving end of the Caesars Foundation’s support but beyond our own experience, we recognize the vital impact it has on our community, a community that we are a part of and that we serve,” says LV Philharmonic Board President and CEO, Jeri Crawford. “We felt it was appropriate to shine the spotlight on the Caesars Foundation and its essential role in our city this year.”

The ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala on Friday, January 18 will top-off a week of concerts that are one of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s most valued and wide-reaching initiatives, its Youth Concert Series. The orchestra and guest conductor Taras Krysa will present eight concerts over four days January 11, 14, 15 and 16 in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center to an audience of over 13,000 Clark County schoolchildren.

“There is nothing like seeing thousands of young children exposed to classical music to better illustrate what ‘community engagement’ truly means,” says Ms. Crawford. “Our Youth Concert Series has been a part of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s programming from the very start and this year we are delighted to bring the children to Reynolds Hall. We will present eight concerts over four days but with increased financial support we could put on more concerts and reach even more children, and hope to do so as our organization continues to grow.”

The Las Vegas Philharmonic began its 2012-13 season in October in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. This is the resident company’s first full season in Reynolds Hall with its next two concerts taking place on Saturday, December 8 (‘A Very Vegas Holiday’) and Saturday, January 12 (‘Rising Star’ featuring violinist Elena Urioste.) The orchestra is currently searching for a new music director and this season’s concerts feature nine guest conductors.

Ms. Crawford says that while getting to The Smith Center was a tremendous achievement for the 14-year-old orchestra, fundraising events such as the gala remain essential: “It’s no secret that orchestras around the country are facing financial difficulties. Although we have a spectacular new hall to call our performance home, there remain financial challenges for us in presenting concerts, growing our audience and sustaining a financial position where we can operate as a professional symphony orchestra. We will not be able to do this alone. To ensure that we build on this remarkable milestone, we need the support of the community and attending our gala or contributing goods or services to the gala auctions are ways people can to do this. We also have various sponsorship opportunities for local businesses to partner with us as we forge forward, and I welcome anybody interested in finding out more about this to contact me.”

TICKETS

Tickets for the ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala are $500 each. Tables of 10 are available at three price points: $10,000, $7,500 and $5,000. Tickets and table bookings can be made by calling Dane Kronick at the Las Vegas Philharmonic, (702) 258-5438, ext. 221.

CALENDAR EDITORS:

Friday, January 18, 2013
Las Vegas Philharmonic’s 14th Annual ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Gala
A Night in Vienna
Caesars Palace, Augustus Ballroom
6:30PM

Benefiting the Las Vegas Philharmonic
Honoring the Caesars Foundation

Las Vegas Philharmonic Invites Audiences to Celebrate 'A Very Vegas Holiday' Saturday, December 8

Two performances 2pm & 8pm in Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000

The list of performers joining the Las Vegas Philharmonic on stage to celebrate the holiday season for two concerts on Saturday, December 8, reads somewhat like a Las Vegas version of the carol A Partridge in a Pear Tree! There will be two Las Vegas mayors (past and present), one ‘Jersey Boy’, four jazz musicians, two local choruses, one Broadway singer, one high school drumline and an enthusiastic and experienced Pops guest conductor.

All will come together for a special matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. and again the same evening at 8:00 p.m. for a festive and fun program that blends holiday favorites with seasonal classical works led by guest conductor, Robert Bernhardt. Mr. Bernhardt is the Louisville Orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, a position he has held for 15 seasons, and Music Director Emeritus of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra.

Guest vocalists, seasoned Broadway performers Travis Cloer and Niki Scalera, known to audiences for their roles in Jersey Boys and & Hairspray respectively, will join the orchestra for the first half of the program which will include Bach/Gounod’s beautiful Ave Maria, the rollicking traditional carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and a cheeky Santa Baby.

The first half of the program will also showcase the percussion talents of the acclaimed Foothill High School Drumline, directed by Nick Waters. The drumline will make its Reynolds Hall debut performing Little Drummer Boy with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Putting the “very Vegas” into “A Very Vegas Holiday” will be special guests Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman and former Mayor Oscar B. Goodman who will narrate an orchestral re-telling of the classic The Night Before Christmas, based on the classic children’s poem. The second half of the program will also feature a festive performance by the David Loeb Jazz Quartet.

Adding vocal power throughout the concert will be two esteemed local ensembles, the Las Vegas Master Singers, directed by Jocelyn Jensen, and the Grant Sawyer Middle School Advanced Choir, directed by Elizabeth Goodman. The concert will conclude with an audience sing-along.

‘A Very Vegas Holiday’ will also include an appearance by a certain gentleman in a red suit with a white beard…

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2PM and 8PM performance are priced from $46 to $94 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online at www.lvphil.org.

Saturday, December 8, 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents ‘A Very Vegas Holiday'

Program:
Randol Bass Deck the Halls
Georges Bizet Farandole
Bach/Gounod Ave Maria
Greene/Lowry Mary Did You Know?
Trad. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Javits/Springer Santa Baby
Jeff Tyzik Hannukah Suite
Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride
Trad. Little Drummer Boy
John Williams Somewhere in My Memory
John Williams Merry Xmas! Merry Xmas!

Intermission

Randol Bass Gloria

Performance by the Dave Loeb Jazz Quartet

Randol Bass The Night Before Christmas
Tchaikovsky Trepak from The Nutcracker
Foster The Prayer
Randol Bass Sing We Now of Christmas
Irving Berlin White Christmas

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PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, guest artists and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com

“Charlie Chaplin, Abraham Lincoln & Tony Hsieh walk into a concert hall…”

Las Vegas Philharmonic & guest conductor Taras Krysa to perform live music for Charlie Chaplin’s classic film City Lights on Saturday November 3

American composers celebrated Saturday, November 17 in ‘An American Portrait’ concert conducted by Case Scaglione and featuring singers Linda Lister & Mark Thomson & guest narrator, Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh

Tickets available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000, or visit www.lvphil.org

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will perform two concerts in November in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center with programs that bring Charlie Chaplin, Abraham Lincoln and Las Vegas-based businessman, Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh into the concert hall.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S “CITY LIGHTS”

On Saturday, November 3 at 8:00 p.m. Taras Krysa will make his conducting debut with the Las Vegas Philharmonic leading a performance of the restored score to Charlie Chaplin’s classic film, City Lights. The orchestra will perform on the Reynolds Hall stage with the film screening behind it. This will be the first time that the restored orchestrated live music version of the 1931 film will be screened in Reynolds Hall and the concert is the first of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Pops Series concerts for the 2012-13 season.

Released in 1931, City Lights, subtitled “A Comedy Romance in Pantomime”, is rated by the American Film Association as one of the top 100 films of all time and is widely considered to be Chaplin’s finest film. In City Lights, Chaplin’s beloved Little Tramp character falls in love and helps a blind Flower Girl (played by Virginia Cherrill) to regain her sight. Chaplin not only wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film, but also wrote most of the music to accompany it. The original music for City Lights was restored by Timothy Brock in 2004 and produced for symphonic presentation. This version will be performed by the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Major orchestras and audiences around the country have embraced the blend of live orchestral music and silent film and guest conductor, Mr. Krysa, who is the music director of the Henderson Symphony and UNLV’s director of orchestras, conducted a performance in Henderson last year. He has also conducted an orchestral performance of the score to Chaplin’s Modern Times and says that Chaplin has a very special and specific musical language: “It’s quite original and distinct. Chaplin knew how he wanted it to sound and what kind of colors he wanted the music to produce. The melodic lines have quite a unique energy to them. It never ceases to amaze me how there is not one thing on the screen that is not well thought out, not one extra frame, and that goes for the musical score as well.”

“AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT”

On Saturday, November 17 the Las Vegas Philharmonic and guest conductor, assistant conductor with the New York Philharmonic Case Scaglione, will celebrate the musical spirit of America with a concert called “An American Portrait”. The program is book-ended by two works by Aaron Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man and Lincoln Portrait. This will be the first performance of the Fanfare for the Common Man in Reynolds Hall and the work has a special meaning for The Smith Center. A painting based on the piece by artist Tim Bavington hangs prominently in the Reynolds Hall foyer and it is also represented by the bold, multi-colored sculpture outside in Symphony Park.

The concert program continues with performance of Copland’s Old American Songs featuring soprano Linda Lister and tenor Mark Thomsen, followed by Leonard Bernstein’s infectious rhythms in Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Charles Ives’s Variations on America and Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings.

“An American Portrait” will conclude with the much-anticipated Las Vegas Philharmonic debut by Zappos.com CEO, Tony Hsieh, who will narrate Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The Lincoln Portrait is a stirring work that features spoken excerpts from some of Abraham Lincoln’s most well-known and beloved speeches. Mr. Hsieh joins an illustrious and eclectic group of people who have narrated the work since its 1942 premiere, such as Henry Fonda, James Earl Jones, Gregory Peck, Katharine Hepburn, Barack Obama, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Vincent Price, Gore Vidal, Margaret Thatcher and Walter Cronkite among others.

TICKETS
Tickets for both concerts are priced from $46 to $94 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000 or online at www.lvphil.org.

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PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, guest artists and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing Jennifer Scott at news@lvphil.com

Members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic engaged to provide live music for Nevada Ballet Theatre’s production of Jewels October 13 & 14

A milestone in Las Vegas performing arts history will be reached in October when an orchestra of 52 musicians including members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic performs at two performances of Nevada Ballet Theatre’s production of George Balanchine’s Jewels. It will be the largest orchestra that the ballet company has ever engaged for a production in Las Vegas and reflects the growth of both resident companies as they begin their 2012-13 seasons in their new performance home of Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

The orchestra will perform the music of Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky at two performances, on Saturday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m. The orchestra will be conducted by Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Music Director & Principal Conductor, Emil de Cou.

For the musicians of Las Vegas Philharmonic who have been engaged for Jewels, performing with NBT allows them to delve into a rich and beloved repertoire. Numerous works composed for ballet are featured as part of orchestral concert programs, including many by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky, but President & CEO of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Jeri Crawford, says the opportunity to perform this music live with the ballet is an exciting development: “Staging this full-length ballet in Reynolds Hall with an orchestra of this size is a groundbreaking undertaking by Nevada Ballet Theatre and one that we applaud. This partnership showcases what Las Vegas cultural organizations can achieve when given the room to grow. We are thrilled that many of our musicians have been engaged for these performances of Jewels, and look forward to helping Nevada Ballet Theatre dazzle its audiences while also giving many of our wonderful musicians the opportunity to further demonstrate their talents.”

Jewels premiered at the New York City Ballet in 1967. Each of the three parts features music by a different composer: Emeralds blends movements from two works, Pelleas et Mélisande and Shylock; by French composer Gabriel Fauré; Rubies is set to Stravinsky’s three-movement Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (the Las Vegas performances will feature Christina Siemens as the pianist); and Diamonds is set to movements 2, 3 and 4 of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29.

All of the works in Jewels provide challenges for the musicians. The Fauré works are mingled together, the Stravinsky includes a string quartet solo played within the orchestral piece and the Tchaikovsky symphony is one that does not feature regularly in the concert repertoire. The musicians also have the added challenge of making sure their performance keeps tempo with the dancers on stage, providing audiences with an exhilarating experience for both eyes and ears.

The performances of Jewels will be held on Saturday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets are priced from $35 - $128 (plus fees) and can be ordered by calling The Smith Center Box Office at (702) 749-2000 or by visiting www.nevadaballet.org.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will launch its own 2012-13 season the following week on Saturday, October 20 at 8:00 p.m. at Reynolds Hall with a concert featuring Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano, and Mussorgsky/Ravel’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Tickets are available now from The Smith Center Box Office phone (702) 749-2000 or by visiting www.lvphil.org.
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Press Contacts:

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Jennifer Scott
(702) 675-3610 or (702) 510-4363 cell
news@lvphil.org

Nevada Ballet Theatre
Jenn Kratochwill
(702) 243-2623 x 241 or (702) 858-4004 cell
jkratochwill@nevadaballet.org

Guest conductors engaged for the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s 2012-13 season to bring an extensive array of talent and experience to Reynolds Hall

Some of the American classical music scene’s fastest rising conducting talents and some of its experienced masters will take the podium to lead the Las Vegas Philharmonic during its 2012-13 season of nine concerts in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts from October through May 2013.

The 2012-13 season features five Masterworks Series concerts and four Pops Series concerts. The conductors engaged for the Masterworks Series performances are: Andrew Grams, October 20, ‘Opening Night Celebration; Case Scaglione, November 17, ‘An American Portrait’; Alastair Willis, January 12, ‘Rising Star’; Daniel Meyer, April 6, ‘A Touch of Brass’; and David Lockington, May 4, ‘Celestial Bodies’.

The conductors engaged for the Pops Series concerts are: Taras Krysa, November 3, ‘Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights’; Robert Bernhardt, December 8, ‘A Very Vegas Holiday’; Steven Jarvi, February 16, ‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’; and Randall Craig Fleischer, March 9, ‘Lights, Camera, The Oscars!’. Taras Krysa will also conduct the orchestra’s eight Youth Concerts in January 2013. (Biographies & photos of the conductors follow.)

The Las Vegas Philharmonic is currently searching for a new music director and President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeri Crawford, says the stellar line-up of new talent and established maestros engaged to lead the 2012-13 season concerts reflects the interest that the classical music community has in the post. A search committee has been formed and many of the guest conductors engaged for the season will be under consideration: “We are thrilled with the impressive range of talent and experience that we have secured to lead our 2012-13 season concerts,” says Ms. Crawford. “The search for a music director is a serious undertaking. We have formed a search committee of board members, staff and musicians and have engaged outside expert help to ensure that we find the best fit for our orchestra and our community. This is neither a simple nor speedy process and we have no set end date for this search. We may find our perfect match this season, or it may take another season. For the coming concerts, we look forward to experiencing a wide range of talent on the podium and to bringing our musicians and these conductors together to create memorable musical performances for our audiences.”

2012-13 Guest Conductors
Masterworks Series

ANDREW GRAMS, October 20, Opening Night Celebration

Considered one of America’s most promising and talented young conductors, Andrew Grams has already appeared with many of the great orchestras of the world including major orchestras throughout the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Australasia. Mr. Grams was a protégé of Franz Welser-Möst and served as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2004 to 2007, making his first subscription series appearance in May 2006. In 2002, Mr. Grams was appointed the assistant conductor of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and returned to conduct that orchestra again in 2005. He was selected study with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin and Michael Stern at the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival in 2003, and returned to that program in 2004.

A Maryland native raised in Severn, Mr. Grams began conducting at the age of 17. In 1999 he received a bachelor of music degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he worked with Otto-Werner Mueller. An accomplished violinist, Mr. Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra at Lincoln Center from 1998 to 2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004, and he has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.

CASE SCAGLIONE, November 17, An American Portrait

American conductor Case Scaglione has been inspiring orchestras and audiences across North America with his musical depth and infectious joy on the podium. In September 2011, Mr. Scaglione began his tenure as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic where he will work closely with Music Director Alan Gilbert and visiting conductors. He was also named the 2011 Solti Fellow by the Solti Foundation U.S. – a prestigious honor only awarded three times in the foundation’s history. Mr. Scaglione recently completed his tenure as Music Director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles where he was the driving force behind the continued artistic growth and diversification of the organization in addition to founding ‘360° Music’, an educational outreach program which brought the orchestra to inner city schools.
Mr. Scaglione was a student of David Zinman at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen where he won the James Conlon Prize and the esteemed Aspen Conducting Prize, which led to his Cleveland Orchestra debut in July 2010. A frequent guest assistant and cover conductor with the St. Louis Symphony and David Robertson, he has also assisted at the Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore Opera, and conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Bramwell Tovey. In Summer 2011, Mr. Scaglione was one of three conducting fellows at Tanglewood chosen by James Levine and Stefan Asbury.
A native of Texas, Mr. Scaglione received his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His postgraduate studies were spent at the Peabody Institute where he studied with Gustav Meier.

ALASTAIR WILLIS, January 12, Rising Star

Grammy-nominated conductor Alastair Willis is currently the Music Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Previous positions include Principal Guest Conductor with the Florida Orchestra’s Coffee Concert series 2008-2011, Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony 2000-2003, Assistant Conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, and Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.

In recent seasons, Mr. Willis has guest conducted with orchestras around the world including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de Rio de Janeiro, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, China National Orchestra, and Silk Road Ensemble (with Yo-Yo Ma) among others. His recording of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges with the Nashville Symphony and Opera for Naxos was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2009.

Born in Acton, Massachusetts, Willis lived with his family in Moscow for five years before settling in Surrey, England. He received his bachelor’s degree with honors from England’s Bristol University, an education degree from Kingston University, and his masters of music degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

DANIEL MEYER, April 6, A Touch of Brass

As Music Director of the Asheville Symphony and Erie Philharmonic, conductor Daniel Meyer has reinvigorated both orchestras with his innovative programs, engaging presence and keen musical intellect. He currently also serves as Artistic Director of the Westmoreland Symphony.

In 2003, Mariss Jansons invited Mr. Meyer to become Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, where he served until 2009. He worked closely with Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons, Sir Andrew Davis, and Charles Dutoit, led the Pittsburgh Symphony on tour, and conducted performances with numerous notable soloists. He led the Pittsburgh Symphony’s ‘Symphony with a Splash’ series as well as a family series called ‘Popular Classics’. He also developed a series of youth concerts based on popular children’s books to promote music and literacy and in 2006 Mr. Meyer and the Pittsburgh Symphony were awarded the Bank of America Award for Excellence in Orchestra Education for their groundbreaking work with the Wilkinsburg community in programs produced over five consecutive years.

A native of Cleveland, Mr. Meyer is a graduate of Denison University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. At Boston University, Mr. Meyer received the Orchestral Conducting Honors Award. He also studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

DAVID LOCKINGTON, May 4, Celestial Bodies

Over the past 25 years, David Lockington, a native of Great Britain, has developed an impressive conducting career in the United States. He has served as the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra since January 1999 and was appointed Music Director of the Modesto Symphony in May 2007. Mr. Lockington also has a close relationship with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain and in February 2012 was named the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor.

Since his arrival to the U.S. in 1978, Mr. Lockington has held numerous positions with American orchestras, including serving as Assistant Conductor with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado and Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In May 1993 he accepted the position of Music Director of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, assumed the title of Music Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in September 1995 and was Music Director of the Long Island Philharmonic from 1996 to 2000.

Mr. Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his bachelor of arts degree at the University of Cambridge, Mr. Lockington came to the U.S. on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his master’s degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist for three years with the Denver Symphony Orchestra before turning to conducting.

Pops Series

TARAS KRYSA, November 3, Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights

Taras Krysa is well known to Las Vegas Valley audiences as the director of orchestras at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and music director of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons his conducting appearances have included the National Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra van het Osten, New World Symphony, St. Petersburg Symphony, Moscow Soloists, Slovak Sinfonietta, Spoleto Festival Chamber Orchestra, Kiev Chamber Orchestra and the Lublin Philharmonic Orchestra. He has made three critically acclaimed recordings for the Brilliant Classics label. Mr. Krysa has also served as Principal Conductor of the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra, which he led on the several European tours including an appearance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Mr. Krysa was born in Kiev, Ukraine to a musical family and began his formal studies as a violinist at the Moscow Conservatory. After moving to United States, Krysa continued his studies at Indiana University and Northwestern University both in violin and conducting. His conducting teachers have included Victor Yampolsky, Jorma Panula and David Zinman. As a violinist, Mr. Krysa has won positions with the New World Symphony orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras.

ROBERT BERNHARDT, December 8, A Very Vegas Holiday

Music Director Emeritus of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Robert Bernhardt, formerly served as Music Director and Conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera for 19 seasons.

This season will mark Mr. Bernhardt’s 30th season working with the Louisville Orchestra and his 15th as its Principal Pops Conductor. Formerly, he was the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic (1995-98), Artistic Director of the Sewanee Music Festival in 1999, Music Director and Conductor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra (1987-95), Principal Guest Conductor of Kentucky Opera (1991-96), Artistic Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta (1993-97) and Music Director of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra (1985-1987). He has also conducted numerous opera productions and has also conducted the Louisville Ballet, the North Carolina Ballet, the Jacksonville Ballet and the Lonestar Ballet.

Born in Rochester, NY, Mr. Bernhardt holds a masters degree with honors from the University of Southern California School of Music where he studied with Daniel Lewis. He was a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Union College, where he was an Academic All-American Baseball Player, and captain of the school’s soccer team. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1978, and has recorded for the Vanguard, First Edition, Carlton Classics and RPO record labels

STEVEN JARVI, February 16, Mardi Gras in Las Vegas

Recognized as one of Americas fastest rising conductors, Steven Jarvi is the Music Director of Winter Opera Saint Louis and recently completed his final season as Associate Conductor with the Kansas City Symphony. Recently the winner of the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Award, he came to Kansas City after spending several years as the Conducting Fellow with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach and as an Associate Conductor for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center.

As Associate Conductor, Mr. Jarvi led the Kansas City Symphony in over 25 concerts each season including their Family, Young People’s, Pops and Chamber Players concerts along with selected classical performances and tours. The recipient of a Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Career Grant, he studied with principal members of the Vienna Philharmonic and at 21 traveled to Austria at the invitation of Claudio Abbado for observation and study with the maestro and the Berlin Philharmonic at the Salzburg Easter Festival. In 2005, as the Seiji Ozawa Conducting Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Mr. Jarvi was one of two conductors selected to study under James Levine, and conducted critically praised performances with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Mr. Jarvi was the first conductor ever invited to be a member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera, a position he was personally selected for by Plácido Domingo. He frequently collaborates with many of the finest singers in the world and is now the Music Director of Winter Opera Saint Louis. Mr. Jarvi has held conducting positions for over 30 opera productions.

RANDALL CRAIG FLEISCHER, March 9, Lights, Camera, The Oscars!

Randall Craig Fleischer has appeared as a guest conductor with many major orchestras in the United States and internationally. Active as a composer and arranger, Mr. Fleischer is a national leader in the area of symphonic rock and world music fusion. His works and arrangements have been played by major orchestras including the Boston Pops, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, China Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, National Symphony. He has worked with artists such as John Densmore (The Doors), Natalie Merchant, Blondie, Ani DiFranco, John Cale (Velvet Underground) Garth Hudson (The Band), Kenny Rogers, Chris Baron (Spin Doctors) and Native American artists R. Carlos Nakai, Burning Sky, The Hawk Project, The Benaly Family and others.

Mr. Fleischer first came to international attention during his first year as Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra conducting Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich as soloist during the NSO’s 1990 tour of Japan and the U.S.S.R. This was the first time Rostropovich had played the cello in Russia since his forced exile in 1972. In 1993, Mr. Fleischer conducted a private concert for Pope John Paul at the Vatican. The Pontiff awarded Mr. Fleischer a medal for his achievements in music. In 1995 Mr. Fleischer made his debut with New York City Opera conducting The Magic Flute.

A passionate educator, Mr. Fleischer has co-authored several pieces for children in collaboration with his wife, comedian Heidi Joyce, which were premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra. Their children’s programs, ‘Cool Concerts for Kids’ have been performed with great success with symphony orchestras around the country.

Mr. Fleischer studied with Leonard Bernstein as a conducting fellow at Tanglewood in 1989. He served as the Assistant Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1989. He received his master’s of music at the Indiana University School of Music and his bachelor of music education from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He has studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller, Seiji Ozawa, Ricardo Muti, Gustav Meier among others.

2012-13 Season Opening Night Celebration

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will launch its 2012-13 season on Saturday, October 20 at 8:00 p.m. In addition to conductor Andrew Grams, the concert features three internationally acclaimed guest soloists, pianist Navah Perlman, violinist Philippe Quint and cellist Zuill Bailey. Tickets to the opening night concert are priced from $46 to $96 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000.
www.lvphil.org
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PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductors are available by request by emailing news@lvphil.com

To request an interview with guest conductors or LV Phil President & CEO Jeri Crawford, please contact Jennifer Scott, Siren’s Call Communications, Phone (702) 675-3610, (702) 510-4363 cell, Email news@lvphil.com

Las Vegas Philharmonic’s 2012-13 season opening concert Saturday, October 20 to be conducted by Andrew Grams with guest artists Navah Perlman, Philippe Quint and Zuill Bailey

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will launch its 2012-13 season on Saturday, October 20 at 8:00 p.m. with a concert conducted by one of America’s most promising and talented young conductors, Andrew Grams, and three internationally acclaimed guest soloists, pianist Navah Perlman, violinist Philippe Quint and cellist Zuill Bailey. The concert will mark the start of the orchestra’s first full season in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Andrew Grams is an American conductor who, at 35, has already appeared with many of the world’s great orchestras both throughout the U.S. and internationally. A former assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, he made his subscription series debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in 2006 and has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra and the orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey and others in the United States. Following his debut with Chicago’s esteemed Grant Park Orchestra last year, The Classical Review described him as “…displaying natural authority, a graceful podium presence and an impressive musicality…”. In demand around the world as a guest conductor who garners numerous repeat engagements, Mr. Grams is also an accomplished violinist. He was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra at the Lincoln Center from 1998 to 2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004.

Mr. Grams will lead the Las Vegas Philharmonic in two works, opening the season with a performance of Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (known as the ‘Triple’ concerto) that will showcase the talents of the three internationally renowned soloists, Navah Perlman, Philippe Quint and Zuill Bailey, the latter familiar to Las Vegas audiences following his much-lauded performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto last season. All three guest artists enjoy successful solo careers and having all three on stage with the orchestra at once is a rare occasion, adding to the celebratory nature of the opening night.

This season the Las Vegas Philharmonic has created concert programs based around the theme ‘A Year in Pictures’. This theme is introduced in the second half of the opening night program with a performance of Mussorgsky’s colorful Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged for orchestra by Ravel. Composed as a heartfelt homage to Mussorgsky’s friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann, the work takes the listener on an aural journey through 10 of Hartmann’s artworks. The Las Vegas Philharmonic performance will feature a visual presentation of Hartmann’s work, the first of numerous multi-media elements that will be employed by the orchestra throughout the season. A pre-concert discussion will be held in Reynolds Hall at 7:15 p.m. and is open to all ticket holders.

To further mark the beginning of its first full season in Reynolds Hall, the Las Vegas Philharmonic is holding a celebratory pre-concert Champagne Dinner Reception from 5:30 p.m. in the Upper Lobby Mezzanine Lounge. Tickets for the reception and three-course dinner, including live entertainment by pianist Corbin Beisner, are $250 per person and available from the LV Philharmonic, (702) 258-5438, ext. 221. (Note: the price for the dinner does not include a concert ticket which should be purchased separately.)

Guest Conductors 2012-13

The 2012-13 season features five Masterworks Series concerts and four Pops Series concerts. In addition to Mr. Grams, the conductors engaged for the Masterworks Series performances are: Case Scaglione, November 17, ‘An American Portrait’; Alastair Willis, January 12, ‘Rising Star’; Daniel Meyer, April 6, ‘A Touch of Brass’; and David Lockington, May 4, ‘Celestial Bodies’.

The conductors engaged for the Pops Series concerts are: Taras Krysa, November 3, ‘Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights’; Robert Bernhardt, December 8, ‘A Very Vegas Holiday’; Steven Jarvi, February 16, ‘Mardi Gras in Las Vegas’; and Randall Craig Fleischer, March 9, ‘Lights, Camera, The Oscars!’.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic is currently searching for a new music director and President & Chief Executive Officer, Jeri Crawford, says the stellar line-up of new talent and established masters engaged to lead the 2012-13 season concerts reflects the interest that the classical music community has in the post.

Tickets to the opening night concert are priced from $46 to $96 and are available from The Smith Center Box Office, Phone (702) 749-2000. Details of all of the 2012-13 ‘A Year in Pictures’ concerts are available online at www.lvphil.org. Season subscriptions are still available. Subscribers can purchase a 9 concert package (of both the Masterworks & Pops Series), or individual Masterwork Series (5 concerts) or Pop Series (4 concerts) packages.
www.lvphil.org
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CALENDAR EDITORS:
Saturday, October 20

Las Vegas Philharmonic Opening Night Celebration

Masterworks I, 8:00 p.m.
Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Celebration Champagne Dinner Reception, 5:30 p.m.
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts Mezzanine Lounge, Upper Balcony

Pre-concert conversation, 7:15 p.m.
Reynolds Hall

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Andrew Grams, conductor

Navah Perlman, piano
Philippe Quint, violin
Zuill Bailey, cello

Program:
Beethoven Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

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PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Full biographies and high resolution photos of the guest conductor, guest artists and/or musicians of the Las Vegas Philharmonic are available on request by emailing news@lvphil.com

To request an interview with guest artists or LV Phil President & CEO Jeri Crawford, please contact Jennifer Scott, Siren’s Call Communications, Phone (702) 675-3610, (702) 510-4363 cell, Email news@lvphil.com

LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC 2012 FINALE FEATURES A CONSECRATION OF THE HOUSE

WHEN - Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 8:00 PM
Doors Open at 6:30 PM / Pre-concert Conversation at 7:15 PM
WHERE - Reynolds Hall in The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
TICKETS - www.lvphil.com or The Smith Center Box Office at 702.749.2000
PR CONTACT - Sabrina Cozine, sabrina@lvphil.com, 702-258-5438, Ext. 226

Beethoven’s Consecration of the House provides the Saturday, May 12, finale for the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s auspicious launch at The Smith Center. Beethoven was commissioned to write this composition for Vienna’s new Theater in der Josefstadt, which was first performed at the theatre's opening on October 3, 1822. The overture opens with brief isolated chords and proceeds into a march that intensifies with a trumpet fanfare. Different groups of instruments enter in turn, producing a fugal texture which crescendos rapidly. A forceful coda brings the overture to a close.

Also on the program is Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, or “New World Symphony,” one of the most popular symphonies in the modern repertoire, capturing a Native American spirit with modern rhythms, harmony and counterpoint. The first movement is bold and distinctive, followed by a beautiful English horn solo in the second movement. The third and fourth movements are resolute and reiterate the strong American theme.

To conclude the evening, the orchestra immerses the audience in the beauty of Respighi’s beloved city with The Pines of Rome. This symphonic tone poem includes four sections depicting various locations from the portrayal of children in the Borghese gardens, to the low resonance near the catacomb, ending with a rising army along the great Appian Way with ancient trumpets.

Tickets are available online at www.lvphil.com or by calling The Smith Center Box Office at 702-749-2000. Ticket price by section is A) $78, B) $53 and C) $38. Senior, Student, and Group discount prices are also available.

The Philharmonic provides a shuttle service for patrons from Summerlin's Starbright Theatre at Sun City and at Sun City Anthem's Independence Center in the Henderson area. Bus passes may be purchased through the box office for $15.

For more information about this performance or the upcoming 2012-2013 concert season, visit the Las Vegas Philharmonic website at www.lvphil.com or contact Sabrina Cozine at the Las Vegas Philharmonic office at 702-258-5438, Ext. 226 or sabrina@lvphil.com.

AN EVENING WITH GEORGE GERSHWIN’S GREATEST HITS!

WHEN – Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8 pm
Doors open at 6:30 pm
WHERE – Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
TICKETS – www.lvphil.com or call the box office at 702-749-2000
PR CONTACT – Sabrina Cozine, sabrina@lvphil.com, 702-258-5438, Ext. 226

Jazz pianist David Loeb and soprano, Lisa Vroman headline the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s last Pops concert of the season at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th, at Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center. The swinging program spotlights George Gershwin’s greatest hits.

David Loeb is Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Music at The University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is in demand as a jazz clinician at prestigious jazz festivals and received the distinguished Nevada System Of Higher Education Regents’ Creative Activity Award. As principal keyboardist with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, David worked with mega-artists such as Placido Domingo, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, and the late Whitney Houston. A jazz pianist, David has performed with jazz legends including Freddie Hubbard, Tom Scott, Bobby Shew, and Ray Brown. He has played for many television shows in Los Angeles including The Emmy Awards, Hill Street Blues, and Family Guy and in feature films including The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams, and the Academy Award-winning score for Pocahontas, composed by Alan Menken.

From Broadway to Classics, Lisa Vroman has established herself as one of America's most versatile voices. Lisa starred for several years on Broadway as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera. As Christine, she garnered Theatre Critic's awards for the role in a record breaking run in San Francisco. Her Broadway debut was in Aspects of Love, and she was the first to play both Fantine and Cosette in Les Miserables. She has been a featured guest with many symphonies including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Hong Kong, and Nashville. Upcoming engagements include Music of Cole Porter (Paris, France) and The Malaysian Symphony (Kuala Lumpur).

The Pops III Concert is sold out. The 2011-2012 season will close on May 12th with a Masterworks performance which will feature Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, Beethoven’s Consecration of the House and Respighi’s The Pines of Rome. For ticket information, visit www.lvphil.com or call The Smith Center Box Office at 702-749-2000. Ticket price by section is A) $78, B) $53 and C) $38. Senior, Student, and Group discount prices are also available.

The Philharmonic provides a shuttle service for patrons from Summerlin's Starbright Theatre at Sun City and at Sun City Anthem's Independence Center in the Henderson area. Bus passes may be purchased through the box office for $15.

For additional information, contact Sabrina Cozine at the Las Vegas Philharmonic office at 702-258-5438, Ext. 226 or sabrina@lvphil.com.

MAHLER SYMPHONY #2 LAUNCHES LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC’S RESIDENCY AT THE SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

PR CONTACT – Sabrina Cozine, sabrina@lvphil.com, 702-258-5438, Ext. 226
WHAT - Las Vegas Philharmonic Masterworks Concert – Mahler Symphony #2
WHEN - Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 8:00 PM / Doors Open at 7:00 PM / Pre-concert Conversation at 7:15 PM
WHERE - Reynolds Hall in The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
TICKETS - www.lvphil.com or The Smith Center Box Office at 702.749.2000

Gustav Mahler’s massive Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” celebrates the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s grand debut in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center on Saturday, March 24th. The symphony is a musical universe unto itself, exploring a spiritual and philosophical realm through five movements performed by two soloists, soprano Marie Plette and mezzo-soprano Eugenie Grunewald, three choirs, and an enormous orchestra including eight extra horns and trumpets backstage, raising the stage count to nearly 300 performers. Choirs include Las Vegas Master Singers led by Director Dr. Jocelyn Jensen, Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society, conducted by Director Dr. Doug Peterson, and UNLV Concert Singers & Chamber Chorale, directed by Director David Weiller.

American soprano Marie Plette is acclaimed in the major opera houses of North America and Europe for her compelling portrayals from Cio-Cio San in Madame Butterfly to Love Simpson in Cold Sassy Tree and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. New York Times commented, "A star turn, by Marie Plette in the title role." Past highlights include performances of the title role in Iphigenia in Tauris with Seattle Opera; Larina in Eugene Onegin with Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Sieglinde in Die Walküre with the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.

American mezzo-soprano Eugenie Grunewald has performed to popular and critical acclaim in a broad repertoire that encompasses both the dramatic roles of Verdi and Wagner and the “bel canto” repertoire of Bellini and Donizetti. First prize winner in the Enrico Caruso International Voice Competition, Ms. Grunewald has earned recognition not only for her dramatic abilities but for her vocal artistry on the stages of leading opera companies here and in Europe, including the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Bilbao, Oviedo, Teatro Maestranza in Seville, Hamburg State Opera, and Opera de Marseille.

Tickets are available online at www.lvphil.com or by calling The Smith Center Box Office at 702-749-2000. Ticket price by section is A) $78, B) $53 and C) $38. Senior, Student, and Group discount prices are also available.

The Philharmonic provides a shuttle service for patrons from Summerlin's Starbright Theatre at Sun City and at Sun City Anthem's Independence Center in the Henderson area. Bus passes may be purchased through the box office for $15.

For a list of concerts for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season, visit the Las Vegas Philharmonic website at www.lvphil.com. For additional information, contact Sabrina Cozine at the Las Vegas Philharmonic office at 702-258-5438, Ext. 226 or sabrina@lvphil.com.

LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC “IN TUNE” WITH THE SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

PR CONTACT – Sabrina Cozine, sabrina@lvphil.com, 702-258-5438, Ext. 226
WHAT - Las Vegas Philharmonic
WHEN - Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - Friday, February 17, 2012
WHERE - Reynolds Hall in The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Musicians aren’t the only ones who need to tune their instruments before a concert. When a great concert hall opens, the acoustics on which its reputation will be built also need to be fine-tuned. That critically important task for Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the dramatic new performing arts center in Downtown Las Vegas designed by David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc., began with collaboration between internationally acclaimed acoustical engineer Paul Scarborough, who masterminded the acoustical concept for the Hall, and the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Although the LVP calls UNLV’s Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall home until March, the orchestra spent the week before its February concert rehearsing at Reynolds Hall as Scarborough and his team initiated this meticulous calibration of sound. Since the Philharmonic’s February program included not only Prokofiev and Bernstein but also Rachmaninoff’s dramatic Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, it provided a wide range of dynamics that was an ideal opportunity for the orchestral “tuning” process.

“We are grateful to the Las Vegas Philharmonic for their flexibility and willingness to relocate to Reynolds Hall for their rehearsals to become an important element in our acoustical testing,” said Paul S. Beard, Chief Operating Officer for The Smith Center. “Since the Philharmonic carries the banner for orchestral excellence here in Las Vegas and will begin its residency here in March, they were a natural choice to help us with this essential process.

"Because of the diversity of programs scheduled for Reynolds Hall, we will continue to refine the acoustics throughout the opening weeks of performances, which include not only the opening gala but Yo-Yo Ma and The Cleveland Orchestra. Our goal is to create a hall in which every note, every word, will resonate perfectly as if it was played or spoken to every seat in the house.”

Maestro David Itkin, Music Director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, emphasized the quality and potential of the house. “Acoustics are as much a part of a performance as the orchestra,” he stated. “They convey to the audience what the musicians play so they all are ‘on the same wavelength’, so to speak. Performing in such a magnificent environment is also an integral part of the musical experience and certainly enhances the enjoyment of both the performers and the listeners. It is very exciting to be part of this continuing evolution of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.”

Concertmaster De Ann Letourneau echoed Itkin’s enthusiasm. “For the entire orchestra, this is a dream come true,” she said. “Performing in a state-of-the art concert hall is an inspiration.”

“For everyone who has supported the Las Vegas Philharmonic, whether their involvement began 14 years ago or yesterday,” President and CEO Jeri Crawford added, “the orchestra’s move into the amazing Reynolds Hall rewards the musicians, the audience, and the community. As the resident symphony orchestra in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Philharmonic enriches the lives of local families, expands the musical horizons of their children, provides employment for talented local musicians, and contributes to the local economy because when they play what people pay stays in Las Vegas. If ever there were harmonious synergy that strengthens the community’s cultural identity it is The Smith Center, its fabulous Reynolds Hall, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the two million people who call the Las Vegas area home.”

VAN CLIBURN WINNER PERFORMS AT LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC’S LAST PERFORMANCE AT UNLV’S HAM HALL.

WHEN – Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 8 pm
Doors open at 7 pm
WHERE – Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, UNLV Campus
TICKETS – www.lvphil.com or UNLV box office at 702-895-2787
PR CONTACT – Sabrina Cozine, sabrina@lvphil.com, 702-258-5438, Ext. 226

Rising star pianist Haochen Zhang, 21, Gold Medalist of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor on Saturday, February 18, at the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s final performance at UNLV’s Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall prior to relocating to Reynolds Hall at the Smith Center in March.

Also on the program for the Masterworks III Concert conducted by Music Director David Itkin are Leonard Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from the musical On The Town, which includes a fresh blend of symphony, jazz, and pop, and is known for its hit, “New York, New York”; and, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite #2 from the popular ballet based on Shakespeare’s famous play.

Zhang has received acclaim at such prestigious venues as the Aspen Summer Music Festival and Academy, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, La Jolla Music Society, as part of Carnegie Hall’s “Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture”, San Francisco Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. He also made a triumphant return to his native China as soloist at the Beijing Music Festival in the winter of 2009, and, in addition, has appeared in Germany, England, Poland, Turkey, and Korea.

Tickets are available online at www.lvphil.com or by calling the UNLV Box Office at 702-895-2787. Ticket price by section is A) $78, B) $53 and C) $38. Senior, Student, and Group discount prices are also available.

The Philharmonic provides a shuttle service for patrons from Summerlin's Starbright Theatre at Sun City and at Sun City Anthem's Independence Center in the Henderson area. Bus passes may be purchased through the box office for $15.

For a full listing of concerts for the 2011-2012 season, visit the Las Vegas Philharmonic website at www.lvphil.com. The orchestra will relocate to the Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall on March 24, 2012. For additional information, contact Sabrina Cozine at the Las Vegas Philharmonic office at 702-258-5438, Ext. 226 or sabrina@lvphil.com.

LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC’S MARKETING DIRECTOR AWARDED MOST VALUABLE PLAYER!

Patricia "Pat" Fink, Marketing Director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic (LVP) received a "Most Valuable Player" Award at the 43rd annual conference of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) held in Pasadena, California on July 22, 2011. The award honors volunteers that demonstrate exceptional knowledge and commitment to a music organization in their community. Fink has been involved with the Las Vegas Philharmonic since 2008 and has served the organization as Board Secretary and Marketing Director. She has applied her vast marketing experience to the Philharmonic’s advertising, communications, public relations, education and development strategies. Her determination has helped raise awareness for the Philharmonic, thus enhancing the cultural community in Las Vegas.

Founded in 1969, ACSO is the largest state orchestra association in the U.S. The LVP joined ACSO to build relationships with neighboring symphonies to discuss ideas, concerns and issues facing symphony orchestras in the world today. Over 70 music organizations attended the ACSO conference. Hot topics included financial strategies in a sour economy, social media, and program innovation in the 21st century.

With the devotion of its board members, musicians, staff and volunteers, the Las Vegas Philharmonic is poised for a dynamic thirteenth season filled with diverse programming including Beethoven, Mahler, Sinatra and Gershwin as well as a major move into Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center in March 2012.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic’s new season starts Saturday, September 10, 2011 at UNLV’s Ham Concert Hall. For a full listing of concerts in the 2011-2012 season, visit the Las Vegas Philharmonic website at www.lvphil.com.

The third largest arts organization in the state and six-time recipient of the Best Performing Arts Group award, the Las Vegas Philharmonic has grown into a nationally recognized orchestra. It has created an extraordinary impact on the cultural and educational life of Southern Nevada.

For additional information, contact Sabrina at the Las Vegas Philharmonic office at 702-258-5438 ext. 226 or sabrina@lvphil.com.