Art blooms in Vegas spring

April showers may well have brought May flowers, as the saying goes, but around Las Vegas all things cultural are also coming into bloom this month.

Fresh ink on a three-year collective bargaining agreement formally signed this week with the musicians union seals the Nevada Symphony Orchestra's much-awaited return to the stage, along with the announcement of several summer engagements.

In coming weeks, the Nevada Ballet will set to work on a summer itinerary of its own when the trucks begin unloading the dance group's wares into its palatial new 35,000-square-foot home in Summerlin that its creators hope will help develop it into a world-class ballet company.

And this weekend, the Las Vegas Philharmonic -- not yet even a year old -- has selected Gustav Mahler's much acclaimed and highly complex Second Symphony, "The Resurrection," for its grand inaugural concert Saturday in Artemus Ham Concert Hall.

The Philharmonic

The Philharmonic's 95-piece orchestra and a 165-voice festival chorus will follow Mahler's introspective search for the meaning of life, strife and suffering in what conductor Hal Weller says will showcase the musicians' professionalism.

"The piece is among the most challenging, much because of its complexity," Weller said. "Mahler was far ahead of his time."

Few musicians could play, let alone grasp, his orchestral masterpieces created around the turn of the century. The scores were typically complicated, the music a difficult blend of classical tradition and progressive experimentation, and his messages deeply philosophical.

"People idolized Mahler as a conductor, but his musical vocabulary was hard to accept," Weller said. "It is so full of contrasts. He sees the ironies of life ... what can be."

Much of Mahler's religious and philosophical themes, historians say, harken back to his early years growing up the son of an abusive father in Bohemia. At least half of his siblings (of whom some authors totaled at 12, others 14) died young.

He taught himself to play piano at 6, and at 15 was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory where he began to compose chamber music and songs. He went on to compose operas and symphonies, dying at age 50 ,reportedly without every hearing the last three of his 10 symphonies played.

"It is music that reflects the atrocities later in our century -- the world wars, Europe in the '40s," Weller said. "He is still difficult for the 'lay listener' to get a handle on. His symphonies tend to be long, and it takes an openness on the listener's part to try to unravel it all in the mind."

Weller welcomes the challenge of conducting the symphony, if only to continue to bring to Las Vegas culturally enriching music.

"The Philharmonic should articulate the highest aspirations of the people," Weller said.

Weller started out as a pianist, played viola through high school and into college and eventually became a trumpet player. Each rung of his musical ladder merely deepened his passion for orchestra.

He came to Las Vegas two years ago for a teaching position at UNLV, becoming the Philhamonic's music director by chance. It happened last summer as word spread that the Symphony would have no Independence Day symphonic performance.

Within nine days, Weller and his good friend Andy Tompkins had on stage for the Fourth of July a 72-piece orchestra and three soloists that would go on to be known as the Philharmonic.

It was an impressive first show, including fireworks, spotlights, pirates running through the audience during performance of the score from the film "Hook," and a costumed lion roaming about during the "The Lion King" music.

Since then, the Philharmonic received a grant for educational outreach from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation permitting them to put on a two-day series of four performances of classical music for Clark County students. Additional support came through the national Musicians Performance Trust Fund, the Andre Agassi Foundation and the Clark County School Community Partnership Program.

"The support has allowed us to plan an ambitious 1999-2000 season," Weller said, breaking the secrecy only enough to hint at the possibility of several summer events.

And the young Philharmonic has also attracted an impressive board of directors, including renowned violinist Isaac Stern; pianist Karl Haas; "Star Wars" composer John Williams; and Eugenia Zuckerman, music director of the Vail, Colo., "Bravo" concert series.

Weller, formerly of Sedona, Ariz., where his wife still lives, has committed himself to the Philharmonic and Las Vegas, making the city his permanent home. As musical director, he feels the Philharmonic can only boost the community's appreciation for classical music.

"We are here to provide music for the community," Weller said when asked about how the Philharmonic views itself now that the Symphony is getting back on its feet. "We are not here to compete."

The Symphony

Still beaming from the praise of Luciano Pavarotti's people after their performance before them last month, the Nevada Symphony Orchestra now looks toward a promising 19th season.

According to Janice Tanno, Symphony president, plans are in the works for a huge Fourth of July concert at Cashman Field, a performance July 19 for the American Federation of Musicians Union convention, and at least two Picnic Pops concerts at Hills Park Summerlin, including "Bravo Broadway" on Aug. 14 and "Come Dance with Me" on Sept. 6.

"We're working on a new way to present the orchestra," Tanno said, declining to elaborate on ideas in the works.

The dates are welcomed by arts patrons, who during the past few years grew concerned about the future of professional orchestra in the valley as friction developed between symphony management and musicians.

The clash that erupted had been building for several years, both sides say, over reasons common to any large organization.

Financial problems within the symphony saw players for a while going without pay for their performances. A pay-back plan, hammered out four years ago by the musicians union, was in the works when musicians again became angry with the symphony which, fearing its musicians could walk out, began periodically hiring out-of-town musicians for its concerts.

"There is almost a pattern to it all, the problems are the same no matter what city you are in," Dan Trinter, AFM president, said. "At some point you want to know exactly what you are paid, where you sit, what your title is. Text books have been written about it. Every orchestra goes through this stage."

The situation, however, paralyzed the symphony, then comprised of approximately 90 percent union musicians. Concerts were cancelled.

XXXXThe American Federation of Musicians Union was responsible for the tacks in the road when it last year placed the Symphony on its International Unfair List for 10 months. The conditions of the listing barred any union musician in the country from playing for the Symphony.

"We were not going to go out and hire students or non-professionals during that time, and so we could not perform," Tanno said. "It was because of the union that we could not perform, but we were made out to look like the bad guy."

They symphony's 10 dark months, however, produced a collective bargaining agreement which both sides today are pleased with. Set in stone now are terms upon which management and musicians can understand on everything from rehearsals to player dismissals.

"It is good and fair," Tanno said. "The union members have their due process, which they were concerned about. We have made a commitment to the musicians. Both sides are happy."

Nevada Ballet Theater has equally committed to its dancers and toward its mission of further establishing Las Vegas as a center for the arts.

And in Brad Stith's mind, the path couldn't have any sweeter a view than through the windows of its artistically inspired 35,000-square-foot new home off Town Center Drive's turnabout that feeds into Library Hills Drive adjacent to the Summerlin Library.

The new building was funded by a $3.6 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, constructed atop land donated by The Howard Hughes Corporation. It sits a stone's throw away from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation headquarters.

"The arts in Las Vegas have a history of being a well-kept secret," Stith said. "There are definitely those aboard who are loyal, but the arts here don't have as much visibility as they do in other cities. This building will be that anchor we need. After 27 years, we have arrived."

It's hard to completely visualize the dream these days. Wire mesh fencing encircles the site where workmen in hard hats are stirring up predictable construction ruckus with screaming saws and drills, and the suffocating odor of fresh paint.

But the building is up, and hopes are high.

By June, palms and flowers will be planted, carpet tacked down and a celebration of dance in place.

Argentinian sculptor Mario Jason will set the mood of the dance theater, having created a 14-foot statue of a man lifting a woman in classic pas de deux form outside the front door and nine smaller sculptures of other dance forms including Spanish, jazz and modern to be placed in alcoves throughout the building's winding gallery.

From the lobby guests will find a "history hall" reflecting both dance's development as well as the Nevada Ballet Theater's history that will include old costumes, programs, photographs and other memorabilia.

The building was crafted large enough to hopefully permit NBT growing room over the next 20 years, Stith said.

There are seven studios, including a 3,0000-square-foot rehearsal room with guest seating and a kitchen off to the side that can be utilized for special catered events. There will be showers, lockers, a physical therapy room with Pilates equipment and a whirlpool, and huge warehouses for storing wardrobe and scenery.

A full academy will be housed in one half of the building, offering ballet, jazz, hip-hop, modern and even yoga classes. A library complete with shelving and media areas will permit students a place to do their homework and study dance through books, periodicals and even video.

And throughout it all, project manager Jay Webber of Specialized Construction was able to maintain a theme to set the earth-toned creation apart from the many other buildings in the business area: a wave.

A curved line is visible along the stucco walls outside, and the idea is carried inside with a waved hallway walkway. A rolling metal creation is suspended from the ceiling in the lobby to maintain the theme of the arts progressing through time.

Viewers will appreciate when NBT holds its community open house June 12, but not nearly as much as the builders.

"All constructionists have levels and squares to work with, but a wave is round," said project manager Jay Webber. "With something round, you're dealing in minutes, seconds, degrees. Curves are the biggest challenge."

The actual site presented its own problems: There was a 12-foot difference between the building's southern and northern ends, which Webber was able to get around by building up the low end and bringing down the high end. Steps inside the building now make up the remaining 4-foot difference.

"When it's a non-profit project and you see how it will help the community and its kids, it's more than just another building," Webber said. "When we open the doors, we want everyone to be happy."

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