music’s in the air

Fill your holiday season—and beyond—with classic song and dance.

By MATTHEW B. BROWN | November/December 2007

Photo: PR ("The Nutcracker")

For the next nine months, the magic number for Northern Nevada’s performing arts scene is four.

Four Reno organizations—Reno Chamber Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, AVA Ballet Theatre, and Nevada Opera—will host a number of events sure to stir lovers of the live performance. Not coincidentally, a few of the events coincide with the holiday season, when it’s fitting for joyful music to fill the chilly autumn or winter air.

When Nevada Magazine’s November/December issue hits newsstands around the middle of October, the foursome will have kicked off their respective seasons—including Nevada Opera’s 40th anniversary performance—but a large portion of their 2007-‘08 schedules take place from November on.

One of the larger events will be the Nevada Chamber Music Festival, presented by Reno Chamber Orchestra. Keeping with the theme of four, the fourth annual festival is four consecutive days and nights of chamber music, capped with a special New Year’s Eve finale. Twice Grammy Award-winning cellist Lynn Harrell will perform among many renowned musicians.

“It’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so no one is working,” says Scott Faulkner, executive director. “The musicians come to Reno for a modest fee, rehearse like crazy, and enjoy the camaraderie. There is not another week during the year that all these musicians will be in the same city.”

Theodore Kuchar, artistic director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival and director and conductor of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, is the mastermind behind the chamber’s season, which includes five different Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon performances. The concerts will feature world-known conductors and musicians, such as pianist Meng-Chieh Liu, who will appear in Gabriel Fauré’s Ballade on November 10 and 11.

Reno Philharmonic, which will celebrate its own 40th anniversary next season, also offers an evening and afternoon showing of each performance. Typically it’s Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening, with the exception of the November 17 (Saturday evening) and 18 (Sunday afternoon) program, featuring violinist Anne Akiko-Meyers participating in Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto.

In December, the AVA Ballet Theatre will present the holiday classic, “The Nutcracker.” Reno Philharmonic joins with AVA and 120 of Northern Nevada’s best dancers to tell the story of young Clara’s adventures with her magical doll. AVA also performs “Cinderella” in March and “Vortex” in July.

The Nevada Opera, founded in 1968 by Ted and Deena Puffer, claims to be Nevada’s oldest professional performing arts company. In addition to October’s anniversary concert, Nevada Opera will entertain audiences with evening and afternoon showings of “Hansel and Gretel” (February 8 and 10) and “The Mikado” (April 11 and 13).