Symphony concert kicks off Nevada Day celebrations

Country singing star Lacy J. Dalton will be the featured guest soloist in the opening concert of the Carson City Symphony's 22nd concert season at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Carson City Community Center.

The concert, a lead-in to the Nevada Day "Wild West" celebrations, will include a "meet-the-soloist" preview with Dalton and conductor David Bugli at 3:15 p.m. in the Sierra Room. A post-concert reception will be held at the newly renovated, historic Brougher-Bath Mansion, 204 W. Spear St.

The Symphony, directed by David Bugli and guest conductor Eric Gault, will play familiar and new music featuring themes celebrating horses: domestic, military, wild and mythical.

The program includes Suppé's "Light Cavalry" Overture, Rossini's "William Tell" Overture, Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances," the Nevada premiere of A. Paul Johnson's "Pegasus," and Gwyneth Walker's "Dance of the Wild Ponies."

Lacy J. Dalton will sing her tribute to Nevada's wild horses, "Let 'em Run," from her CD "Wild Horse Crossing," and some of her greatest hits, "Takin' It Easy," "Black Coffee," and "16th Avenue," in special new arrangements for vocalist and orchestra.

Dalton, who has traveled and performed throughout the United States, now makes her home near Virginia City. She is a founder of the Let 'em Run Foundation, a wild-horse advocacy group created "to preserve and protect these beautiful, gentle horses who have played such an important role in our Western heritage," Dalton said.

Proceeds from the concert and reception will benefit the Comstock Wild Horse Sanctuary and the Carson City Symphony Association. Proceeds from intermission refreshment sales benefit the Symphony's Strings in the Schools program.

Tickets to the concert are $20 for general admission; $15 for seniors, students, and Carson City Symphony Association members; and free for age 16 and under. Reception tickets are $15 additional.

Concert and reception tickets are available in advance at the Brewery Arts Center, 883-1976; online at ActivityTickets.com; or at the door on the day of the performance. Season tickets are available through the Symphony. For information and prices, call 883-4154 or see CCSymphony.com.