New orchestra debuts at Whitney

Monday, May 11, 1998 | 10:07 a.m.

The Amadeus Violoncello Orchestra is the first ensemble of this kind in Southern Nevada. The 16 to 20 cellists are students of the Amadeus School of Music whose director Barbara Gurley is principal cello of the Nevada Chamber Symphony, Gurley, who organized the orchestra, and Rodolfo Fernandez, a cellist and conductor of the Chamber Symphony, are coaches as well as players in the ensemble.

The program for this first public performance opens with the "Consecration Hymn, Op. 65" by Gruetzmacher, and includes Metzler's Quartet for Cello Ensemble in three movements, "Elegie, Op. 47" by DeSwert, Three Pieces for Cello Ensemble by Tchaikowsky, Goltermann's "Romance, Op. 119 No. 1" and the Allegro con Brio from Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3."

The concert is free and open to the public, and the audience is invited to join the orchestra in a reception following the performance.

The Amadeus Violoncello Orchestra is sponsored by the Violin Outlet and is part of the educational outreach of the parent orchestra, the Nevada Chamber Symphony. Members meet weekly to prepare and develop the repertoire. Concerts by the new ensemble will be included in the 1998-99 season presented by the Nevada Chamber Symphony, which will also present its junior ensemble, the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, in concert.

Cellists interested in joining the new ensemble may contact Barbara Gurley at 733-3028.