Joshua Roman first artist in residence for new LV Philharmonic program

More than a year ago, the Las Vegas Philharmonic began brainstorming an artist in residency program that would take live performance out of the concert hall and into shopping centers, medical offices and parking lots.

Now that the coronavirus pandemic has indefinitely shuttered The Smith Center, along with many performance venues around the world, the Philharmonic’s new program and selected artist are poised to launch these alternative performances during the 2020-2021 season — and preserve the live classical music experience for the city’s patrons.

“The residency program started somewhat vaguely,” says Lacey Huszcza, executive director for the Philharmonic. “We were looking to connect more deeply with the community in Las Vegas and launch new programming beyond a concert in a concert hall.”

Huszcza envisioned a multi-pronged program in which the Philharmonic could partner with a local medical organization or social justice institution to develop a performance series that would nurture connections. The program also would seek out opportunities to pair performances with food, dance and outdoor experiences while offering enhanced resources to music students.

While the concept was still in its infancy, Huszcza reached out to world-class cellist and TED Fellow Joshua Roman about being a part of the multiyear Arts and Impact Residency.

“Joshua was the first person who came to mind,” says Huszcza. “He has an incredibly wide worldview and in-depth perspective and a unique ability to talk about music and bring it out of the concert hall and into life in powerful, exciting ways. We went to him with this vague concept and let him help us imagine what the program could be.”

Roman was the Seattle Symphony’s principal cellist for two years, before becoming a soloist at the age of 24.

He collaborated with Huszcza while she worked with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to create local, immersive activities.

“He has an ‘Everyday Bach’ series where he performs Bach solo pieces in different spaces: fields by lakes, on Skid Row, a concert at Amoeba Records,” says Huszcza.

Roman grew up outside the suburbs of Oklahoma City, and when he started playing cello as a child, he did not have access to traditional classical music infrastructure.

“From the very beginning almost all my performances were me playing in a church or someone’s home and with other people, even though I was training as classical,” says 36-year-old Roman.

Roman’s efforts to bring music into more accessible spaces has led to him performing in schools, at HIV and AIDS centers and, in 2006, at Ugandan refugee camps.

“All of these people in the camp were experiencing incredible, desolate poverty, and had no classical musical training,” remembers Roman. “But they laughed at Mozart’s jokes. They got it. They had no expectations and they paid attention. I mean, I read that Mozart was a prankster in his music, but I never actually listened to it. I don’t like the notion that you can’t appreciate a great piece of art just because you haven’t studied the form.”

Now that The Smith Center is closed, possibly until a vaccine becomes available, the Las Vegas Philharmonic is in need of alternative venues in which musicians can perform.

“We’re brainstorming about different places like Container Park or the little stage at Fergusons Downtown. Having music in different spaces changes your relationship to the space and the music in really fresh and exciting ways,” says Huszcza. “But it’s hard to think out of the box that you’ve been in for so long. It helps to partner with artists who have already broken out of that box.”

The idea is not to replicate The Smith Center in other settings, but rather to complement the traditional concert in spaces that reframe how the music is experienced.

Roman is slated to make the first appearance of his three-year residency on Oct. 16, at the season opener, a concert that is made tentative by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think people are really going to hunger for that live, in-person experience. I miss it for sure,” says Roman. “And rather than just waiting for it to happen and hitting pause, let’s spend some time reflecting on what makes it great. While we can’t do that kind of performance, how else can we connect?”

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel @reviewjournal.com. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.