SMITH CENTER: A hub for culture, a gift to Las Vegas

Editor's note: The Review-Journal asked several individuals and organizations to provide their perspectives on The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which held its opening gala Saturday. The Smith Center is named for Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Chairman and former Review-Journal executive Fred W. Smith and his late wife, Mary, who led the center's private funding campaign. The Review-Journal used to be owned by Mr. Reynolds' Donrey Media Group. The Reynolds Foundation has committed $150 million toward The Smith Center's construction and operations.

DREAM COME TRUE

By DON SNYDER

It has been nearly 18 years since I sat down with a handful of our local business leaders to discuss what, at the time, was simply an idea. This weekend, nearly three years after breaking ground, our community welcomes what will soon become the cultural centerpiece for our community, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

This world-class performing arts center was designed to be a part of this community for generations to come, and the enthusiastic support we've received over the years will ensure just this. We expect to build a rich heritage and inspire a love of the arts.

Already we've seen school buses and children at this beautiful campus. Now we can add to that smiling faces from those in the community who are attending a show -- or simply coming to see what the buzz is all about.

Those behind this performing arts center have done a tremendous job developing this project and putting together the right team to lead it into the future. We are also grateful for the support of each Nevadan who has made this opportunity, the opportunity to have a heart of the arts in Las Vegas, possible.

This is a gift our community has given to itself to enjoy, to inspire, to educate and to entertain.

It has been an honor to be a part of such a special project, and it is one in which I believe we can all take tremendous pride.

Don Snyder is chairman of the board of directors of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Snyder, dean of UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, is a longtime Las Vegas gaming and business executive.

INSPIRING CHILDREN

By LINDA E. YOUNG

With the opening of The Smith Center, Southern Nevada welcomes an amazing new venue for the performing arts. A true partner with this community, The Smith Center is already working with the Clark County School District to plan educational opportunities for our students.

The arts can have an incredible, lasting impact on young people. Beyond helping to develop creativity and problem solving, the arts can engage students in the learning process in a powerful way.

The Smith Center recognizes a strong connection between the arts and education and will host a number of performances, workshops and master classes for students. Through the Kennedy Center's "Any Given Child" program and incredible community support, The Smith Center also is helping to bring access, balance and equity to arts education for K-8 students.

The Smith Center events will complement existing arts programs within the school district. By connecting the arts to all areas of the curriculum, the center will provide unique, memorable learning experiences that children will want to share with their families.

The opening of this performing arts center fulfills a vision of local leaders to have a world-class facility focused on the arts. The center was designed to address the needs of our community and offer a wide array of programs.

The Smith Center helps to define our community, too, by celebrating cultures from all over the world. The stunning building and surrounding campus will feature local arts groups as well as touring attractions. The state-of-the-art facilities provide a venue to let the arts flourish and create more opportunities for the next generation. Perhaps one of our students is a future virtuoso waiting to be discovered.

We applaud The Smith Center team, the executive committee and the public and private partners for bringing this gem to Las Vegas.

Linda E. Young is president of the Clark County School Board. She represents District C.

FEEDING ARTISTS' SOULS

By KEITH THOMPSON

After a 25-year career as a professional musician in New York, my eight years in Las Vegas have given me the greatest respect and admiration for the phenomenally talented and gifted performers who make up our creative arts community. All of us have enormous appreciation for the gaming industry for the employment opportunities they offer.

But as performing artists, we hunger to have our creative souls fed. We seek avenues to express our talents beyond blockbuster spectaculars marketed to tourists.

The Composers Showcase of Las Vegas is just such an avenue.

As a founder and organizer of The Composers Showcase, I have found it challenging to locate an intimate cabaret room appropriate for a forum such as ours. The 2010 closing of the Liberace Museum's Cabaret Showroom left our monthly event homeless. We floated between venues, struggling to keep it alive and find a new home.

Now, finally, The Smith Center is opening. While many symphony orchestras and dance companies all over the country are struggling, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre have an exciting new home. The Smith Center will also offer top-notch Broadway musicals and concerts.

But I am most excited about their offer to host The Composers Showcase on March 28 in the beautifully designed, 244-seat Cabaret Jazz room.

Finally, Las Vegas has an intimate and classy venue that is comparable to the great cabaret showrooms of New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Finally, The Composers Showcase has hope for a viable new home to celebrate the creative spirit and the artistic heart.

The Smith Center is an amazing gift to our community. The buzz has started. The excitement is building. And I can't wait.

Keith Thompson is conductor of "Jersey Boys."

'YEAR OF DOWNTOWN'

By CAROLYN G. GOODMAN and OSCAR B. GOODMAN

What a thrilling time to live in Las Vegas. The "year of downtown" is in full swing with the opening of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

This symbolic structure for culture and fine and performing arts joins the Mob Museum, the new City Hall and the soon-to-be-opened Neon and Discovery Children's museums in the heart of this great city. These are unique and remarkable projects, each long-planned and statements unto themselves. We are confident that this phase of development marks the beginning of an era of greatness for our city.

The Smith Center defines world quality, and thus it will serve as the hub of cultural arts for the entire Las Vegas Valley and will be a mainstay for generations to come. Looking forward, we know that our residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the best of Broadway, concerts, opera, dance and the arts, all at affordable prices in this exquisite center.

A decade ago, the land upon which The Smith Center stands was a 61-acre railroad yard brownfield. Now The Smith Center rises majestically in Symphony Park. Next door, physicians at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health are tirelessly working to research cures and provide treatments for those with neurodegenerative diseases in an iconic Frank Gehry-designed building.

We thank Smith Center President and CEO Myron Martin for his partnership with the city in making certain that what was a dream just a few years ago has indeed become a reality.

The world is watching Las Vegas and taking note of the awe-inspiring projects that continue to rise from the desert floor -- The Smith Center surely serving as the leader. We congratulate all of those who have contributed to the creation and realization of the fabulous Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Carolyn G. Goodman is mayor of Las Vegas. Her husband, Oscar B. Goodman, is a former Las Vegas mayor.

NEW BEAUTY FOR BALLET

By BETH BARBRE and JAMES CANFIELD

Thanks to a stunning leadership gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the vision of the city of Las Vegas and the generosity of several dozen local philanthropists, Las Vegas now has a world-class home for the performing arts.

As we celebrate our 40th season in Las Vegas, Nevada Ballet Theatre is proud to join the Las Vegas Philharmonic as a resident company of the new Smith Center. We are grateful for this great gift from the community, and we are ready to take center stage.

On May 5, we will present our first performance in Reynolds Hall, a gala event that will feature our professional company of dancers, a world premiere and guest appearances by several world-renowned artists. To cap the evening, we will show how dance can educate, energize and inspire young people across the valley.

Our gala will be just one of many firsts. In October, we will present a historic collaboration. For the first time anywhere, three ballet companies -- Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet West and Pacific Northwest Ballet -- will share the stage to dance "Jewels," George Balanchine's full-length masterpiece. And in December, we will premiere a brand-new production of "The Nutcracker," created by us for the entire community.

The beauty we bring to Reynolds Hall is the result of our board of directors, dancers, staff, faculty, volunteers and parents. In our beautiful studios in Summerlin -- also a gift of the Reynolds Foundation -- our professional dancers train under the guidance of artists who once captivated audiences in the world's great performance halls.

In our academy, 400 local children of all ages learn and practice our art form, gaining confidence, poise and skills that could lead to a career in dance. And our Future Dance program inspires thousands of schoolchildren in Las Vegas through free dance classes, access to live performances and academy scholarships.

We're prepared to bring life to this marvelous new stage. Your applause will sustain us.

Beth Barbre is executive director and chief executive officer of Nevada Ballet Theatre. James Canfield is artistic director of Nevada Ballet Theatre.

RICHER SOUNDS

By PATRICIA PIEPER FINK

What does The Smith Center mean to the Las Vegas Philharmonic? It's a catalyst for the orchestra to achieve greater community exposure, program expansion, improved performance quality and collaboration.

Because the Las Vegas Philharmonic is one of only two resident companies in the new hall, and The Smith Center already has achieved a significant amount of press and attention in the community, our hope is that our presence in Reynolds Hall will generate greater awareness for the orchestra not just in Las Vegas, but in surrounding areas and nationwide. We take the responsibility of residency seriously, as we know many individuals and companies contributed to The Smith Center because of their belief that Las Vegas should have an orchestra and a great hall for its performances.

Performing in a state-of-the-art performance hall will enhance the sound quality and offer a variety of program opportunities on an acoustical and visual level. The acoustical engineering of the concert hall will improve the musicians' ability to hear each other, thus strengthening the dynamic output of their performances, from the softest passages to the full-throttle intensity of a piece.

In return, the audience will experience the symphonic sounds of the orchestra on an entirely new level, enabling greater connectivity to the orchestra. The lighting, projection and staging capabilities will allow the Philharmonic to explore different visual components and musical repertoire to enhance the overall concert-going experience and provide programs that appeal to a wider audience.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic plans to partner with local arts organizations, including The Smith Center's other resident company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, and the Discovery Children's Museum, which is scheduled to move into Symphony Park later this year. Working with these other organizations will open possibilities for new and exciting programs that combine the aural and visual components of performance and enrich educational opportunities for Las Vegas children.

Patricia Pieper Fink is marketing director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

WONDER OF DISCOVERY

By LINDA QUINN

For more than two decades, Lied Discovery Children's Museum has served the children and families of Southern Nevada, providing a vibrant environment that sparks curiosity and inspires exploration. From the very beginning, the founders of our children's museum had the vision that investing in the educational development of children would pay dividends for their lifetimes and for the community as a whole.

The museum's board of trustees, staff and community of generous supporters have been working tirelessly toward making that vision a reality: creating a 21st-century educational and cultural resource a city our size honestly deserves.

Now, thanks to those efforts and the amazing contributions of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, our future has arrived.

Later this year, the new Discovery Children's Museum will open at the Donald W. Reynolds Discovery Center in Symphony Park, adjacent to The Smith Center. Within the best cities, cultural institutions such as ours are clustered together in centralized locations, creating excitement, undeniable harmony and unlimited opportunity for creative collaboration. We are honored to be a part of the development of Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas and excited to partner with The Smith Center to create a dynamic educational union -- a collaboration that has already begun.

The Smith Center is a transcendent project, a facility that will redefine the culture of our city, starting now. It is so exciting to see our friends and neighbors gaining this amazing community asset, and this is only the beginning. We can't wait to share what comes next: an all-new, world-class, interactive Discovery Children's Museum for the families in our community.

You can follow along and get involved today by visiting www.NowToWow.org.

Linda Quinn is chief executive officer of the Discovery Children's Museum.

ADDING ENERGY

By SAM CHERRY

Growing up in Las Vegas, I can remember certain times when there was an amazing electricity in the air, like Mike Tyson's heavyweight boxing matches and the opening of the Bellagio. The Smith Center is bringing back that same feeling for me.

History is being made again in downtown Las Vegas. Unlike a new megaresort that may only be considered viable for a couple of decades, The Smith Center will be a timeless gift to our community for generations to come.

As a downtown developer, I can appreciate the time, talent and energy that have gone into this beautiful structure. I had the privilege of touring it during the construction phase, and as I walked through Reynolds Hall -- with goose bumps -- I recognized it as one of the most well-thought-out buildings I have ever seen. The attention to detail and consideration for the patrons and performers is amazing.

Las Vegas, you are going to love this place.

I see The Smith Center as a complement and catalyst for the cultural community that has been growing downtown. I believe it will encourage more artists to live and work in a neighborhood anchored by the new creative energy generated by The Smith Center.

On a daily basis, we have people inquiring about the facility at our local business in the Arts District. At both Resnicks grocery store and The Lady Silvia, our urban lounge, I often overhear people discussing the iconic facility and the shows they plan to attend.

To sum it up, I believe The Smith Center will have an immeasurable impact on our community. I'm so proud to have it downtown, just a few blocks away from where I live.

Sam Cherry is chief executive officer of Cherry Development.

FOOD, DRINK AND JOBS

By CHRIS FAVA

For Culinary Arts Catering, the opening of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts provides an unparalleled opportunity to serve the community while offering hundreds of new food and beverage jobs to Las Vegas residents.

As the exclusive caterer for The Smith Center, Culinary Arts Catering provides all food and beverage services, including before and after performances, during intermission and at the Cabaret Jazz. We also have a range of menus to suit weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, corporate meetings and other private events in this one-of-a-kind setting.

Through our role at The Smith Center, Culinary Arts Catering is providing more than 230 new food and beverage jobs, including 51 permanent regular employees and 186 on-call staff in positions such as bartender, bar back, steward, cook and banquet porter. Our staff members are highly qualified professionals who reflect the diversity of the local population. They have undergone rigorous training to ensure that they provide each guest with superb food and impeccable service.

It is an honor to be partnering with The Smith Center. As nonprofit organizations, we both value integrity, education, inclusion and service excellence, and we share a commitment to the community.

Culinary Arts Catering is a division of the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, which has been helping build strong careers in the hospitality industry for nearly 20 years. In keeping with The Smith Center's affordable ticket prices, our appetizing and reasonably priced menus will provide great value to local residents. During intermission, guests can choose from a variety of options ranging from candy and nuts to small shared plates such as charcuterie antipasto, miniature ciabatta sandwiches, garden fresh crudite, and fruit and fromage.

We look forward to serving you.

Chris Fava, vice president of food and beverage and chief operating officer of the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, oversees food and beverage operations at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.