Reno’s Spring Concert Season Is in Full Swing

Published February 20, 2026

Featuring Reno Philharmonic and Reno Chamber Orchestra Spring Concerts

While not quite parked at the gate, the 2025-26 seasons for the Reno Phil and Reno Chamber Orchestra are coming in for a landing. Before they do land, there is plenty going on in the coming month. Here are some thumbnails so you don’t miss the really good stuff that April and May in Reno have on offer:

AVA Ballet Theatre with Reno Phil Swan Lake

April 11 (7:00 p.m.) and 12 (2:00 p.m.)
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts

The Phil provides the live orchestra for AVA Ballet’s presentation of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Swan Lake. AVA’s commitment to using live orchestra for the classic ballets it presents is all too rare, and the years-long partnership with the Reno Phil to provide the music is an important one in our community. For those who love The Nutcracker, Swan Lake is right up your alley. Although the story is certainly different, the music is vintage Tchaikovsky, and with this musical backdrop, the fantastic dancers realizing Alex Van Alstyne’s masterful choreography are not to be missed.

Reno Chamber Orchestra presents Gershwin Live! A Roaring ‘20s Party

April 16 (5:00 p.m.)
McKinley Arts and Culture Center

Before its full orchestra concert in a few weeks (keep reading), the RCO is presenting a special Roaring ‘20s party to get in the spirit of things. This early evening celebration features a performance of Gershwin’s classics by the Angelo Monroy Trio. The multi-talented keyboardist will be joined by Reno jazz mainstays Hans Halt on bass and Andy Heglund on drums. Heavy appetizers, drinks, the chance to wear your Gatsby finery and mingle with fellow music lovers make this an event you’ll want to attend.

Reno Phil Carmina Burana

April 17 (7:30 p.m.), 18 (4:00 p.m.) and 19 (4:00 p.m.)
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts

At the risk of dropping a Timothy Chalamet style bomb, Carl Orff might be the greatest one-hit wonder in the history of classical music. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a fascinating and important figure in the history of our art form, but his approach to music education is arguably his greatest contribution. He certainly did compose other music, but most people (musicians included) couldn’t name any of his works besides Carmina Burana. The stage will be packed. In addition to the full Reno Phil, this piece showcases the Reno Phil Chorus and Sierra Nevada Children’s Chorus as well as soloists Ashley Fabian (soprano), Arnold Livington Geis (tenor), and Weston Hurt (baritone). This sui generis work creatively sets a medieval cantata in the modern world. The text and story of Carmina Burana are fascinating to explore.

On the first half of the concert, music director Laura Jackson leads the Phil in Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to On the Waterfront. This is followed by an important, brand-new work commissioned by the Reno Phil, Michelle Issac’s Pressing Truths. Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this timely work focuses on a singular founding parent, Mary Katherine Goddard, the only woman to sign the historic document. Part of the Phil’s Classix Conversations series, Ms. Goddard will be giving a lecture about this piece on the morning of April 16, and as is true before all Reno Phil and Reno Chamber Orchestra concerts, there will be a pre-concert conversation on-stage—this one led by Chris Morrison and Laura Jackson. With so much appealing stuff on this program the Phil has added a Friday night performance to its usual Saturday and Sunday offerings.

Reno Chamber Orchestra Gershwin: All That Jazz

May 2 (7:30 p.m.) and 3 (2:00 p.m.)
Nightingale Concert Hall

After having your Gershwin whistle whetted a couple weeks before, the Reno Chamber Orchestra takes the stage at UNR’s Nightingale Hall with guest conductor Donald Lee III to present the fifth subscription concert of its season Gershwin: All that Jazz. Anchored by a masterful arrangement for chamber orchestra of the music from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, this program also sees the return of bassist Hans Halt and drummer Andy Heglund as they are joined by RCO principal keyboardist, pianist James Winn, in a performance of Claude Bolling’s Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano Trio. Also on the program are a string orchestra arrangement of Florence Price’s Andante Moderato from her String Quartet, and the propulsive and electric Danzon No. 4 by Arturo Marquez.

Our community’s embarrassment of musical riches rolls on, and I invite you to join us in enjoying this wealth.

Scott Faulkner is principal bassist of the Reno Phil and the Reno Chamber Orchestra. For the League of American Orchestras, he is director of its Alumni Network and faculty director of its Essentials of Orchestra Management program.