Las Vegas Philharmonic to Perform 'Cabrera Conducts Mozart,' 3/5

The Las Vegas Philharmonic performs Cabrera Conducts Mozart on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center. The performance will open with Philip Glass's Company for String Orchestra followed by Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D Major and will conclude with Brahms's Violin Concerto in D Major featuring the Philharmonic's own concertmaster, De Ann Letourneau. Music Director Donato Cabrera and De Ann Letourneau will present the Classical Conversation at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in Reynolds Hall for patrons interested in learning more about the music and history behind the works being performed that weekend.

The program begins with Philip Glass's Company for String Orchestra, a four movement work originally commissioned by the Mabou Mines Development Foundation for the dramatization of Samuel Beckett's prose poem, "Company." Glass's piece premiered in 1983 and marks the orchestra's first performances of a work by the famed American composer. Philip Glass is considered one of the most influential music makers of the late 20th Century.

Composed in 1786, Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D Major, also known as the "Prague" symphony, was premiered at the Prague National Theater in January, 1797, three days prior to a performance of The Marriage of Figaro. The three movement symphony is one of Mozart's most enduring and popular symphonies.

The evening concludes with Brahms's Violin Concerto in D Major featuring Las Vegas Philharmonic Concertmaster De Ann Letourneau. The concerto, composed in 1878, was dedicated to and premiered by his close friend and leading violinist, Joseph Joachim. Letourneau will have the exclusive opportunity to perform the concerto on the "Chanot-Chardon" violin, made by Antonio Stradivari in approximately 1726. The violin is on loan from Bein & Fushi Rare violins of Chicago.

Letourneau is one of a few female concertmasters in the US. She was the youngest, at age 16, to win a full time position at Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. Her enthusiasm and dedication to cultivating the Arts and Youth in Las Vegas earned her the honor as the first ever recipient of the "Woman of Distinction Award in the Performing Arts." In 2012, Letourneau was inducted into the Superior Academic Hall of Fame with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" because of her dedication to helping to inspire young people.

Ticket prices for the March 5th Cabrera Conducts Mozart concert are $26, $46, $66 and $96 and can be purchased through The Smith Center Box Office, phone 702.749.2000 or online at lvphil.org. In addition, the Las Vegas Philharmonic is offering a new concert package this season; the Flex Passport, priced at $300, offers patrons the opportunity to purchase six seats to redeem at a later date for the concert(s) of their choice.

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