Passing the Baton

When Harold Weller puts down his baton Saturday night after conducting the Las Vegas Philharmonic for the final time, his work in the field of classical music won't stop.

Weller, 65, plans to create opportunities for young musicians "through education and career development, here and elsewhere. There is a fantastic group of musicians here," he says.

And he says he's leaving the Philharmonic at a time when "it rests on a solid foundation. It's time for it to really soar. It takes somebody with energy and the capacity to take it there."

David Itkin of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has been hired to replace Weller. His tenure will begin with the annual July 4 concert at Hills Park in Summerlin.

Along with Andrew and Susan Tompkins, Weller helped found the Philharmonic in 1998, although his ties to the city go back further. While leading the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, a board member "told me I had to go see the ballet (called the Nevada Dance Theatre at the time) in Las Vegas. I said, 'Yeah, right. What kind of funny cigarettes have you been smoking?' But I went to the ballet and sat next to Susan Tompkins. Little did we know we'd create this enterprise."

The following year, Weller invited Nevada Dance Theatre co-founder and artistic director Vassily Sulich to bring the ballet company to Flagstaff for performances of "The Nutcracker." Weller traveled to Las Vegas in 1994 to conduct the "Nutcracker," and discovered there were financial problems with the existing symphony, the Nevada Symphony Orchestra.

At that time, Weller began mulling over the idea of a new orchestra in Las Vegas. "I thought, 'What would it take to make a successful orchestra in Las Vegas? With all the stereotypical ideas about a symphony in a place like Las Vegas?' "

In 1997, Weller resigned his position in Flagstaff, after taking the symphony from five concerts per year to 22.

He came to Las Vegas later that year to conduct UNLV's orchestra and command the orchestra pit for the university's opera productions.

The following year, with the Nevada Symphony Orchestra on the ropes, Weller and the Tompkinses created the Las Vegas Philharmonic. The first performance was on July 4, 1998.

For his final program, Weller has selected three works: Richard Wagner's "Overture to Rienzi," Richard Strauss' "Vier Letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)" and "Enigma Variations" by Edward Elgar.

"The 'Enigma Variations' is a tribute to the friends we've made here," Weller says, while the first half of the program "contrasts the young Strauss with the older Wagner."

Weller says his time with the Philharmonic has been "great. I'm going to watch the progress of the orchestra. I'm not going to meddle."