Liberace Foundation plans arts festival to boost scholarship fund

What: Liberace Scholars Festival of Arts

Where: 2-4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Clark County Jewel Box Theater, 1401 E. Flamingo Road

Cost: Free

Tucked behind the eye-catching glitz of the flashy Las Vegas entertainment scene are a number of dedicated local students striving to map out a career in the arts. Whether it's ballet, modern dance, big band or a symphony, students want classical training.

Helping to finance their studies is a foundation created by an entertainer who epitomized the glitz of Las Vegas: the late Liberace, "Mr. Showmanship" himself.

Some say Liberace's foundation and the scholarships it provides to students nationwide are the best-kept secrets in town. The cat is out of the bag Sunday.

The first Liberace Scholars Festival of Arts will feature students from UNLV, Las Vegas Music Festival, Nevada Ballet Theatre and Nevada School of the Arts.

Featured selections include "Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor" by Vivaldi, performed by Nevada School of Music students, and variations from "Raymonda" performed by Nevada Ballet Theatre students.

Liberace considered the foundation one of his greatest achievements. He once said he wanted to spread his good fortune in entertainment and do what he could to help others who were starting a career. But the foundation pales in recognition to the showman's other legacy: the Liberace Museum on Flamingo Road -- the source of funding for the foundation.

"We're trying to build the foundation," Sandra Harris, its executive director, said. "A lot of people don't even know it exists. So much has been put into the community."

More than $35,000 has been divided among local institutions this year. Since 1976 the foundation has provided more than $3.9 million in scholarships to 100 universities, schools and organizations.

"He wanted to help students who were really looking for a career in the arts," Harris said.

The Jewel Box Theater will seat 150, but the festival is expected to grow. Clark County's performing arts center, which seats nearly 400, is already booked for the August 2000 performance.

"We're very lucky that Liberace has done this for the students," said Bruce Steivel, artist director at the Nevada Ballet Theatre, the training ground for the Nevada Ballet. A number of scholarship recipients have become dancers in the troupe.

"The scholarships allow them to take more classes than they could (normally) afford," he said. About 20 students are scholarship recipients this year, and one student is studying on a full scholarship.

The scholarships are merit-based, and students must qualify through auditions. That also applies at the Nevada School of the Arts, where 28 students are attending on scholarships.

"For our students to be Liberace scholars they have to be top," Linda Hidalgo, Nevada School of the Arts office manager, said.

Many of the school's students have gone on to college, gaining other scholarships with their advanced training, she added.

Twelve-year-old violinist James Reinarz is seriously considering a career in music. He practices daily and his favorite piece is the first two movements of Handel's Fourth Sonata. His favorite composers are Handel, Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi.

Reinarz, a student at the arts school, has been studying for eight years. For three years he has auditioned for and received scholarships from the foundation.

The nonprofit school, a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, has been receiving scholarships from the foundation for five years.

"As a parent I'm really thrilled with it because it helps with the tuition," Robin Reinarz, James' mother, said. "It's quite an investment you're making in your child."

Liberace received a scholarship at the age 7 to attend the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music where he received classical training in piano.

The Wisconsin native, who came from a musical family, received scholarships for 17 years. At 14 he debuted with the Chicago Symphony.

Liberace is one of the first people who made classical music popular, Robin Reinarz said. "He exposed the masses to it."

Liberace began the foundation in 1976, and the Liberace Museum, 1775 E. Tropicana Ave., opened in April 1979.

Visitors from all over the world come to see the popular display of the showman's extravagant lifestyle such as his opulent gowns, costumes and rings. His unique car collection features a red, white and blue Rolls Royce and a Mercedes covered in rhinestones.

Nearly 150,000 people pass through the museum annually. Admission proceeds go to the foundation, which has continued its work since Liberace's death in 1987.

In its first year the foundation sponsored four concerts to benefit UNLV's Music Department's scholarship fund.

Its first major project was the Liberace Keyboard Entertainer Search, which drew thousands of participants from 75 cities. The winner received grants, a trademark silver candelabra and the opportunity to perform with Liberace at the Las Vegas Hilton.

That year $10,000 in scholarships were awarded to institutes around the country.

"I hope the foundation projects will continue into the future to offer gifted newcomers financial help and in many cases artistic exposure as well," Liberace said in his book "The Things I Love."

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