Las Vegas Philharmonic to perform 10 Free Concerts for 15,000 Kids, 1/13-17

The Las Vegas Philharmonic will perform 10 free concerts for the largest number of schoolchildren in its 15 year history in January by expanding its annual Youth Concert Series to five days Monday, January 13th through Friday, January 17th. Over the week close to 15,000 fourth and fifth grade students from 122 schools throughout the Las Vegas Valley will attend a Las Vegas Philharmonic concert held in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. (Note: these concerts are not open to the general public.)

The orchestra will perform two 45-minute concerts each day throughout the week. The concerts are themed "Music in Motion" and will be conducted by Rei Hotoda who recently completed her two-year tenure as the Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. While in Las Vegas, Ms. Hotoda will also visit local schools in a mentoring role, including conducting a rehearsal of the Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic.

In addition to bringing thousands of children into the concert hall, the Las Vegas Philharmonic's Youth Concert Series brings music into the participating schools' curriculum. Educational materials based on the concert program are developed by a team of Clark County School District elementary music teachers. These materials are then used by the schools' music specialists to prepare the children for the Las Vegas Philharmonic concert.

The theme of the January concerts is "Music in Motion" and includes excerpts from works that demonstrate the varying pace of orchestral playing including Aaron Copland's "Hoe-Down" from his Rodeo ballet, excerpts from works by Mozart and Beethoven and orchestral excerpts from the operas Hansel & Gretel and Russlan & Ludmilla.

The Youth Concert Series also provides young Nevada musicians with an exceptional performance opportunity. Winners of the Las Vegas Philharmonic's annual Young Artists' Concerto Competition perform as soloists at these concerts, providing many with their first opportunity to play with a professional symphony orchestra. It is also hoped that children in the audience will be inspired to learn to play an instrument by seeing musicians close to their own age on stage. In January, those soloists will be: Dash Chrisman, 13, flute; Amber Epstein, 17, flute; Quinn Ngo, 17, clarinet; and Devon Zubka, 16, cello.

The Youth Concert Series is presented by the Las Vegas Philharmonic and funded through donations and sponsorships. Free concerts for children have been a key component of the orchestra's education and community outreach work since 1999, reaching over 140,000 schoolchildren. Sustaining and expanding funding for 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 Saturday, March 1st at the Aria Resort & Casino.

Support for the 2014 Youth Concert Series comes from: Caesars Foundation, Cirque Du Soleil, Cox Communications, Elements Therapeutic Massage, Green Valley Grocery, IGT, Kinder Morgan, L.L. Bradford & Company, Michael Gaughan's South Point, National Endowment for the Arts, Nevada Arts Council, NV Energy, Target, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Wells Fargo. The Las Vegas Philharmonic also acknowledges the many individual donations received for this series. The Las Vegas Philharmonic Youth Concert Series is presented with the cooperation of the Clark County School District Partnership Office.

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