Classical music, where you wouldn’t expect it

By Kristen Peterson

Friday, Feb. 29, 2008 | 2 a.m.

It’s hard to find a well-organized, professional classical music ensemble series in the Las Vegas Valley. More challenging is finding one that features top local talent.

Forget that our musicians have performed and toured nationally and internationally, guest-starred with orchestras and joined ensembles in other cities. Slots for local gigs are scarce.

Aside from the longtime Nevada Chamber Symphony, most chamber groups and societies come and go. Professional ensemble performances are often one-shot concerts or wedding gigs, or feature out-of-town performers.

So imagine the excitement when SFS Entertainment dedicated its March concert lineup at the Starbright Theatre to classical ensembles featuring principals from the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Aptly titled “Stars of the Philharmonic,” the series features strings, woodwind, brass and jazz ensembles, beginning with this weekend’s string trio, which features DeAnn Letourneau, concertmaster of the Las Vegas Philharmonic; Mary Trimble, principal violist of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Chamber Symphony; and Barbara Gurley, principal cellist of the Nevada Chamber Symphony.

The group will perform Haydn’s Trio in G Major and Beethoven’s Trio No. 1 in E Flat Major, as well as selections from the collection of cellist and arranger Rodolfo Fernandez.

The performances at the Starbright Theatre are the result of the success of the performance by Letourneau and pianist Sandra Rivers, who were somehow grouped in a concert series that featured the Platters and Johnny Butler.

“They sold tickets,” says Bill Freyd, who formed SFS Entertainment with two theater friends, Bob Sperling and Betty Sullivan-Cleary. That was enough for Freyd, who is also president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, to look into more classical performances.

“Everybody is doing the Platters, comedy and musical acts, but not so many small classical concerts. So we decided to use March dates for the classical series.”

It’s too soon to tell how well the series will do and it’s a vast difference from SFS Entertainment’s past productions: “A Chorus Line,” “Cabaret” and “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”

But Freyd says there is definitely an audience.

The remainder of the series:

• Stephen Caplan, principal oboist of the Las Vegas Philharmonic; Alexander Viazovtsev, the new principal flutist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic; and philharmonic pianist Barbara Riske will perform March 8 and 9.

• Bill Bernatis, principal horn of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the Las Vegas Brass will perform March 15 and 16.

• Philharmonic associate conductor Richard McGee will close the series March 29 and 30 with a jazz trio performing standards by composers including George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Henry Mancini.

Caplan’s trio will perform sonatas by Bach and Johann Joachim Quantz, pieces by Beethoven, Vladimir Tsibin and Madeleine Dring, and Ennio Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe” from “The Mission” soundtrack.

Caplan, a recording artist, member of the Sierra Winds and soloist who performs internationally, is eating this up: “We have a lot of wonderful talent locally, performers here who are really at a top level.”