Las Vegas Philharmonic makes Smith Center debut Saturday

About 10 or 15 minutes into rehearsal, Itkin recalls, “I said, ‘Are you all playing louder than normal?’ “

Actually, Itkin says, the change in sound — in both volume and clarity — was Itkin and the orchestra’s musicians discovering what it will be like to play in the acoustically impressive Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center which, beginning Saturday, will be their new home.

On Saturday, the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Smith Center era begins with a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.” Also scheduled to perform will be soprano Marie Plette, mezzo-soprano Eugenie Grunewald, the Las Vegas Master Singers, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Concert Singers & Chamber Chorale, and the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society.

The concert begins at 8 p.m., with a pre-concert conversation at 7:15 p.m. Itkin says the Mahler piece is particularly appropriate given the occasion.

“It’s an extraordinary piece, a very celebratory piece,” he says. “It’s a piece whose spiritual themes are looking forward and looking back, so, for me, that’s another reason it’s very appropriate.”

From the perspective of looking back, the piece symbolizes the Philharmonic’s leaving UNLV’s Artemus Ham Concert Hall, its home for the past several years. From the perspective of looking forward, the piece symbolizes the Philharmonic’s new tenure at The Smith Center.

“We are very excited,” Itkin says, noting that, in Reynolds Hall, “there’s a brilliance and a vibrancy and a ringing to the sound.”

How noticeable will the difference in sound quality be? “I think people who have come regularly to Ham Hall will grasp it immediately,” Itkin says. “They’ll grasp it at the first note.”

DeAnn Letourneau, Philharmonic violinist and concertmaster, suspects that even casual concertgoers “are going to realize how amazing” the sound in Reynolds Hall is.

“They will get spoiled very quickly,” she adds. “My husband, who is not a musician, can hear the difference between Ham Hall and The Smith Center.”

For Philharmonic musicians, playing at The Smith Center is “so much fun,” Letourneau adds. “It’s like a race car or something. You drive a good car, and then you get into some superfast or superluxurious car and you totally notice the difference.”

Beyond The Smith Center’s acoustic virtues is its ambience.

“The Smith Center, it gives you goose bumps just driving up to that place,” Letourneau says. “It’s so huge and beautiful and, really, for a musician, it’s almost like the president is in the audience. It’s that level, and we have to raise our game every time you step onstage, even in a rehearsal.”

Itkin says The Smith Center will offer the Philharmonic the opportunity to do things that technically and logistically couldn’t be done at Ham Hall.

“One thing we could never do at Ham Hall is what we are doing this week: Putting upwards of 80 orchestra players and 250 chorus (members) onstage,” he says, performing Mahler’s “Resurrection” in a way closer to that in which it was intended.

“Doing this piece the way it should be done is a big first step,” he says. “And, then, we’ve actually designed a season to play into the hall’s unique capabilities.”

That includes, for instance, incorporating “visual effects” such as those Itkin says will be used this weekend and during the Philharmonic’s Christmas pops concerts.

Even before rehearsals for this weekend’s program began, musicians were really excited about the move to The Smith Center, Itkin says.

“But I don’t think they are one-tenth as excited as they’re going to be at 10 o’clock (this) Saturday night,” he adds. “The excitement is theoretical until you’ve experienced it.”

The move to The Smith Center is a significant step in the evolution of the Philharmonic, which opens its 14th season later this year.

“Next to the founding of the Las Vegas Philharmonic,” says Jeri Crawford, the Philharmonic’s president and chief executive officer, “I think this is the largest, the most substantial thing, that has happened to this orchestra. This is a huge, fantastic opportunity, and we are just so happy to be a part of it.”

While moving from Ham Hall to The Smith Center is a dream realized for the Philharmonic, it doesn’t lessen the need for taking care of nuts-and-bolts practicalities. Chief among those, Crawford says, is continuing to seek financial support for the Philharmonic.

Crawford notes that — perhaps contrary to the impression some may hold — the Philharmonic and The Smith Center are entirely separate entities, and that the Philharmonic now becomes, in effect, a tenant of The Smith Center, leasing space from it for rehearsals and performances.

Crawford says it costs the Philharmonic about $1,650 a day to rent The Smith Center’s concert hall, but that “The Smith Center has been very generous in giving us the same rent for the first year — maybe two years — that we have had at Ham Hall.”

However, the Philharmonic also must cover additional costs, including salaries — Philharmonic musicians receive union scale — such technical services as lighting and sound, and other services required to maintain an orchestra and stage concerts.

Subscription revenues cover “only about 40 percent of our costs,” Crawford says, adding that 80 cents out of every subscription dollar “goes right to the music. It’s extremely low overhead.”

Philharmonic ticket prices will increase by about 20 percent, partly to cover additional box office costs associated with the move to The Smith Center, Crawford notes. However, those who subscribe before Sept. 1 will receive a 10 percent discount, and ticket discounts also are available to students, families and seniors.

“So (the increase) may sound like a lot, but the majority of that increase will go to The Smith Center for various costs,” Crawford says.

The Philharmonic now has a subscription base of almost 1,300 although “our average concert was filled with about 1,400 to 1,500 and maybe 1,600 people every concert, like clockwork,” Crawford says. “So we have a proven base, a proven track record.”

But, Crawford continues, “now that we are there, we really do need to have community support.

“The community stepped up for The Smith Center in a very big way. Now we are asking the business community to support the Las Vegas Philharmonic in the same way. How can you have a world-class performing arts center and not have a local Philharmonic?”

With its move to The Smith Center, the Philharmonic also is exploring expanding its schedule of performances.

“We have added another pops (concert),” Crawford says, “(and) we are looking at a second performance of some of these concerts on Sunday afternoons, but there’s no history here to tell us if that’s something the community will support.

“We have great plans for the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the move to The Smith Center is the catalyst to accomplish those plans. So let there be no confusion about that.”

Even amid the excitement of moving to a new home, the past two months have been bittersweet for Philharmonic musicians. Letourneau admits that playing the Philharmonic’s last concert at Ham Hall in February was difficult.

“I’ve played operas there. We’ve played ‘The Nutcracker’ there. We’ve played Broadway shows and all the Vanda Master Series things. We’ve played everything,” she says. “So I’d have to say the last concert was very hard. It was difficult for me to walk out that second half and know that was the last time I’d walk that stage as concertmaster.

“I described it to a friend of mine as, it’s like moving into your dream house. You leave your old home, and there are so many memories,” she adds. “Kids are born there and grow up there. The parties you had. The milestones your family had in that home. And, then, when you get your dream home and move, it’s bittersweet. It’s a very emotional ride.”

Contact reporter John Przybys at
jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.