Can’t stop the music

As the year winds down, theaters go dark as local arts groups take a well earned rest from the rigors of auditioning, planning and performing in productions. That’s great news for performing artists but bad news for patrons of the arts who need their weekly entertainment fix and can’t wait until next month for new productions to open. The Reno Chamber Orchestra, however, is bucking tradition with a series of classical concerts Dec. 28-31. The first Nevada Chamber Music Festival consists of eight concerts featuring the RCO and guest artists from around the country, including Grammy Award-nominated violinist James Buswell. Masterpiece Concert No. 1 begins 7 p.m. Dec. 28 at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 100 Bishop Manogue Drive. The program includes works by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Dvorak. Several concerts will be performed daily at Saint Rose and Nightingale Concert Hall at the University of Nevada, Reno through Dec. 31. The festival ends with the Masterpiece Concert No. 4, which features compositions by Mozart, Brahms, Schumann and Strauss. The show starts 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at Nightingale Concert Hall inside Church Fine Arts Complex at UNR. Tickets are $15-$160. For a complete list of concerts, call 348-9413 or visit www.renochamberorchestra.org. —Kelley Lang