Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society’s concert to feature eclectic compositions
The Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society plans to kick off its 49th season this week by pushing the musical envelope in a concert that members hope will attract people who have never seen the classically trained group perform before.
The group — made up of the full Musical Arts Chorus and the select Musical Arts Singers — typically performs works by big-name classical composers such as Mozart, Handel, Bach and Beethoven. But the show scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive, is set to open with “Missa Criolla,” a contemporary Mass by Argentinean composer Ariel Ramirez.
“It’s an interesting piece,” said Douglas Peterson, the society’s director. “It’s based on rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America.”
The decision to include the piece was part of a conscious effort by the group to reach out to a new audience and expand its reach.
“We live among a large Hispanic population,” Peterson said. “We’ve been coming to the Winchester for three seasons now, and we wanted to do something that would appeal to an Hispanic audience. We want to reach people who have never heard us before.”
The group plans to perform the piece in its original Spanish, which has proved to be a challenge for some singers.
“It’s not like Europe, where everyone knows these different languages,” Peterson said. “It’s coming along, though, and it’s going to sound fantastic.”
“I admire them for reaching out and trying some different stuff,” said Patrick Gaffey, cultural program supervisor for Clark County Parks and Recreation. “They don’t always do stuff that’s this contemporary.”
Another piece the group is set to perform is so new that Gaffey had a hard time tracking down information about it. The “Horn Mass” is a work by Korean composer Byung Hee Oh. The Musical Arts Society performed it last year at the Winchester Cultural Center, and it was so well received that the group is bringing it back.
“They come close to filling the room every time they perform here,” Gaffey said. “They have a reputation for putting on a really quality show.”
The Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society plans to round out the show with two medleys of show tunes, one focusing on the works of George M. Cohan and the other on Jerome Kern.
“Our Kern piece includes ‘Old Man River’ and some other really big songs,” Peterson said. “We find there’s a group of senior citizens who find the Broadway stuff really appeals to them.”
Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.
Season ScheduleThe Musical Arts Singers plan to present “Missa Criolla,” a contemporary Mass by Argentinean composer Ariel Ramirez; Byung Hee Oh’s “Horn Mass” and Broadway favorites from Jerome Kern and George M. Cohen at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Call 455-7340 or visit clarkcountynv.gov for ticket information.
The Musical Arts Chorus plans to peform Felix Mendelssohn’s St. Paul Oratorio at 3 p.m. Nov. 13 at Artemis W. Ham Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Call 455-7340 or visit pac.unlv.edu.
The Musical Arts Chorus plans to join with other valley choirs backing up Andrea Bocelli at 8 p.m. Dec. 10 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Tickets start at $75. Visit mgmgrand.com or call 891-7777.
A Musical Arts Singers concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. Feb. 12, 2012, at the Doc Rando Recital Hall inside the Beam Music Center at UNLV. Call 455-7340 or visit pac.unlv.edu.
The Musical Arts Chorus’ annual pops concert is scheduled at 3 p.m. March 4, 2012, in the Nicholas Horn Theater at the College of Southern Nevada’s Cheyenne campus. Call 651-5483.
The Musical Arts Chorus plans to perform in Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony” along with other area choirs and the Las Vegas Philharmonic to commemorate the opening of The Smith Center at 8 p.m. March 24, 2012. Tickets begin at $42. Call 982-7805.
For more information about the society, visit snmas.com.
