Trumpeter Allen Vizzutti to perform, teach as part of festival

Although trumpeter Allen Vizzutti can remember performing in Las Vegas "way early" in his career with bands on the road, he seems far more enthusiastic about his appearance this weekend at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"Universities are great -- a lot of enthusiasm and also some very specific interest in niche situations, like festivals of brass and festivals of woodwinds and strings," said Vizzutti, who has performed with Chick Corea, "Doc" Severinson, Chuck Mangione, Woody Herman and many others in a career that has taken him to 40 countries and every U.S. state, with solo performances in places that have included the Aspen Music Festival, Montreaux Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. "But the youthful enthusiasm is fantastic."

Vizzutti will get a pretty good taste of that youthful enthusiasm because he'll not only perform-- at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Doc Rando Recital Hall in the Beam Music Center on campus -- he'll also conduct a master class from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday.

"It's something I do quite frequently and with great enthusiasm," he said of master classes. "It's also fun for me to come in and do an intense presentation and not have to teach on a daily basis."

It's all part of UNLV's Feste Fantini II trumpet festival. The festival will begin with his master class and recital on Friday, followed by master classes and clinics, trumpet ensemble rehearsals, solo competitions and a festival performance on Saturday and a trumpet and organ service at 10:45 a.m. Sunday at Christ Church Episcopal, 2000 S. Maryland Parkway.

Saturday's events include Bach Performing Artist Christopher O'Hara with a clinic for younger players, Chestnut Brass Company member Bruce Barrie on performing the natural trumpet and Furman University trumpet professor Gary Malvern with a clinic for high-school students on performing current repertoire.

Tickets to Vizzutti's recital are $10 for most adults, $8 for seniors and members of the military and free for UNLV and Clark County School District students with student I.D. Tickets are available at the UNLV Box Office.

Festival registration, which includes Vizzutti's recital, all clinics and master classes and ensembles, is $15. Students and adults are welcome and can register at the festival website, www.FesteFantini.com. Onsite registration will begin at 2 p.m. Friday in the Beam Music Center. For details, call UNLV trumpet professor Steven Trinkle at 895-1996.

As for Vizzutti, he said he's looking forward to a return to Las Vegas.

"You've got a cross-section of tourists, and then you have the university influence and the locals who are of course very diverse but also interested in jazz music," he said. "So it runs to kind of a lot of nice cross-sections with a lot of enthusiasm."

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.