SNSO Performs Season Opener

By CATHERINE ELLERTON

Moapa Valley Progress

The season opener of the Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra (SNSO) was held on the evening of Saturday, November 17, at the Casablanca Showroom in Mesquite.

Conductor and SNSO founder, Dr. Selmer Spitzer had a dream of bringing a live musical experience to the desert, and that dream has been delighting audiences with their well-tuned performances for the past five years. The members of the orchestra are a mix of professionals, retirees, and school-aged musicians.

The 2018-2019 season opener provided all of those things and much more. Narrator Jim Dick introduced each selection.

Saturday’s program was dedicated to veterans. The Colors were presented by the Virgin Valley Veterans Honor Guard and “The Star-Spangled Banner” brought the audience to their feet.
The fast-moving and spirited overture, “Zampa Overture” written in 1831 by French child prodigy L.J. Ferdinand Herold got hearts pumping.

English composer R. Vaughan Williams wrote the next selection on the program, the “Concerto for Bass Tuba.” Soloist Liahona Barraclough brilliantly played the “Movement II Romanza” from that Concerto.

Following this selection, the orchestra presented selections from Frederick Loewe’s “My Fair Lady.” Loewe was an Austrian-American composer who started composing at the age of seven. The orchestra captured the mood and flavor of this popular musical from “I Could Have Danced All Night” to “On The Street Where You Live” to “Get Me To The Church On Time.”

Following a brief intermission, the orchestra played the majestic “War March of the Priests” from Athaliah by Felix Mendelssohn. This Romantic Era composer was commissioned to write the music for Racine’s religious drama. The orchestra performed the dynamic score brilliantly.

Joseph Haydn, an Austrian composer, wrote the next selection, “Concerto for Trumpet” which was brilliantly performed by renowned trumpeter D. J. Barraclough. His performance brought the audience to their feet.

A tribute to the men and women who fought in the Korean War was an intriguing and spell-binding “Inchon” written by Robert Smith.

The evening concluded with Meredith Willson’s “Seventy-Six Trombones” from The Music Man. The audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation for the conductor and the versatile orchestra.