Saturday concert features about 200 North Las Vegas students

About 200 North Las Vegas middle and high school students are set to join forces this weekend to perform at the free Notes of Autumn musical talent showcase.

“My favorite part about this was learning new music,” said 17-year-old Jaron Goddard, a senior at Legacy High School. “We’ve been preparing since the middle of August, and I feel we’re doing very well … I’m excited to play with all of the other schools that are there and show them what we can do.”

Legacy’s band is one of 14 that are set to perform. Students from Canyon Springs, Shadow Ridge, Cheyenne and more practiced for about a month for the inaugural showcase.

“We worked really hard for this event,” said 16-year-old Nicole Petcoff, a junior at Legacy. “We’ve taken a lot of time to practice it and now that it’s all together, I’m really excited for us to play for everyone. I’m excited to show that we can play these songs, even though they’re pretty difficult.”

The concert is the product of a conversation between City Councilman Scott Black and friends Brian Levanger and David Skouson. Skouson, a member of the North Las Vegas Arts and Culture Advisory Board, suggested giving students a chance to perform in front of the community.

“We thought it was a great idea,” Black said. Levanger, the guitar program director at Legacy, coordinated with other schools. He contacted them in early August and again two weeks later. There was visible excitement, he said. Everyone responded right away.

“It’s important to showcase what we’re doing here to support positivity in North Las Vegas,” he said, calling the concert “a great opportunity to celebrate what’s good in our city.”

Ensembles, mariachi bands and choirs are among the scheduled performers. Twelve high schools will be represented.

“It’s very beneficial to give students basically a payday for all of the work and effort that they put into their skill,” Black said.

Contact Mia Sims at msims@reviewjournal.com. Follow @miasims___ on Twitter.