Frankie Moreno brings casual joy back to classical music

Frankie Moreno, known for his self-titled show at the Stratosphere, goes classical at the Winchester Cultural Center.

The last time Frankie Moreno performed at Winchester Cultural Center, he encountered a few obstacles.

The concert was planned as a night of classical music with the Las Vegas headliner. But an orchestra was playing in town at the same time, which drained the pool of classical musicians dry.

So, the night before his concert, Moreno had to re-write his instrumental arrangements for the musicians who were available, an incredible feat for any performer, says Patrick Gaffey, Winchester Cultural Center Theater’s supervisor.

When Moreno plays Winchester Saturday, he expects things to go much more smoothly, thanks to the Firenze String Ensemble. A local group that formed strictly to play classical music, Firenze String will join Moreno in a concert billed simply as “Frankie Moreno and Firenze String Ensemble.”

Several members of the ensemble regularly perform with Moreno at the Stratosphere, where he headlines his own show.

Though he is known for his pop music, Moreno is a skilled classical pianist who loves to write symphonies.

“That’s kind of my passion, writing classical music. But I have no place to play it,” says Moreno, who has recorded with famed classical violinist Joshua Bell. He is currently working on another record with Bell.

The Winchester concert will give Moreno a chance to perform his original classical music with some of the finest string players in Nevada, Gaffey says. Firenze will open the concert with Dvorak’s Serenade, Op. 22. But don’t think this will be a stodgy, conservative show.

Moreno has studied the masters of classical music, the Mozarts, the Beethovens, the Bachs. And, he says, any student of classical music knows that its origins are based around jovial social gatherings instead of the formal performances of present day.

So this concert, Moreno says, will be engaging and interactive. You don’t have to like classical music or know anything about it to enjoy this show.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@review journal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.