Las Vegas Youth Camerata Orchestra alumni to return for best-of show

When the Las Vegas Youth Camerata Orchestra performs Saturday at the Winchester Cultural Center, there may be a few older faces in the crowd.

"The concert is not going to look too young," said Oscar Carrescia, the group's founder and musical director. "Some of the performers originally played with the Youth Camerata 10 or 15 years ago."

Usually, the group is made up primarily of Carrescia's students, most of whom are high school age. Saturday's performance is billed "The Best of the Las Vegas Youth Camerata Orchestra," with several of his former students who have gone off to have professional careers in music returning for the show.

"Some of them play in the Las Vegas Philharmonic now," Carrescia said. "I'm very excited about having ex-members who are professionals now performing in the show."

The show is a reprise of one the group had in October celebrating 25 years of the orchestra. It will consist of pieces written and/or arranged exclusively for the group.

Carrescia came to Las Vegas when nearly every casino had a house band and there was lots of work for orchestra musicians. He worked at the Dunes as a musician for 30 years and said he backed a lot of big names over the years, including Leslie Uggams, Paul Anka and Tony Bennett.

In 1978, he opened Oscar Carrescia's Music House, 1305 Vegas Valley Drive, where he repairs instruments and gives music lessons. He worked both jobs until the Dunes was shuttered and still operates out of the Music House.

In 1986, he had enough high-caliber students that he felt were ready to perform professionally as a group, and the Camerata was born.

"When the first of my students got old enough and left for college, I was worried," Carrescia said. "I thought, 'What will I do? My best students are leaving.' But eventually, I got used to that and brought in new students. I keep bringing in new ones to replace the ones who move on."

While Carrescia teaches many youths, one member who has performed with the Camerata for eight years is a little more seasoned.

"I got a very late start on my instrument," said violinist Lois Goodman, who began taking lessons well into adulthood. "They usually start around 6 or 7."

Goodman used to play piano, but that instrument was too cumbersome to haul around. She had a violin that her father had passed along to her, but it needed repairs. She looked for a place to get it fixed and found Carrescia's shop. After he repaired it, she began taking lessons from him.

"That was all she wrote," Goodman said. "I was hooked, and I've been playing at his concerts ever since.

Goodman is also a member of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra. She said the violin is a challenging but very rewarding instrument. Likewise, she finds performing with the kids of the Youth Camerata rewarding.

"In order for them to be in the band, they have to be able to play at a certain level," Goodman said. "They're really amazing performers; they know what they're doing. Oscar is a perfectionist about his music and his orchestra, so you can bet they're more than ready."

Carrescia is in the process of preparing a book about the group's 25 years, which is an update of a book he put together 10 years ago. It includes stories of the many members of the orchestra who have gone on to bigger things and the many guest performers who have played with them.

"We had Ruben Gonzales, who is now the concert master for the Chicago Symphony (Orchestra), perform with us four times," Carrescia said. "We have performers from big shows on the Strip. Genevieve Dubois from 'Zumanity' has performed with us before, and she'll be in this show also."

Chelle Reed and Robert Taras will also be perfoming as soloists.

While Carrescia is proud of the Governor's Arts Award the Las Vegas Youth Camerata Orchestra received in 1997 and the 2006 proclamation from Clark County recognizing the orchestra for community service and leadership, he said he sees his quarter-century of successful students as his biggest achievement.

"I'm very happy to have the opportunity to work with my students," Carrescia said. "I'm always happy now when one moves on and becomes a professional."

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 702-380-4532.