THE CLASSIX SERIES | Make Space

THE PLANETS

Saturday & Sunday
March 20 & 21, 2027

7:00 PM | Doors 6:30 PM
4:00 PM | Doors 2:30 PM


Surging with electricity, myth, and raw orchestral power, this concert is part one of the Reno Phil’s Gillemot Foundation Music & Space Festival. At the center is Blue Electra by Michael Daugherty, a high-voltage violin concerto inspired by the life and mysterious disappearance of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. Written for and premiered by Anne Akiko Meyers, the work fuses amplified violin, driving rhythms, and striking orchestral color, reflecting Earhart’s daring spirit and unfinished final flight. That same elemental intensity expands outward into the vast, immersive universe of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, a triumph of orchestration, where driving momentum, massive forces, and stark contrasts create one of the most visceral experiences in the symphonic repertoire. Paired with stunning artistic multimedia projections, you won’t want to miss this concert. 

Music & Space Festival
Sponsored by the George W. Gillemot & Bean Space Foundation

ON THE PROGRAM

Michael Daugherty Blue Electra
Gustav Holst Planets

Laura Jackson
Music Director & Conductor

Anne Akiko Meyers violin

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Single tickets and 3-concert flex packages will be available starting July 31.

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Anne Akiko Meyers, violin

Anne Akiko Meyers stands among the most influential violinists of our time.
A GRAMMY® Award-winning artist with four decades of international acclaim, she is a defining force in contemporary music—both a muse and a fearless champion of today’s leading composers. Through her commissions, premieres, and recordings, she has helped reshape the modern violin repertoire.  The Strad hails her as “the Wonder Woman of commissioning,” a title earned through her close collaborations with visionary composers such as Arvo Pärt, Einojuhani Rautavaara, John Corigliano, Arturo Márquez, Philip Glass, Michael Daugherty, Mason Bates, Adam Schoenberg, Billy Childs, Jakub Ciupiński, Ola Gjeilo, Morten Lauridsen, Wynton Marsalis, Somei Satoh, and Eric Whitacre.

In the 2025–26 season, Meyers premieres and releases Eric Whitacre’s The Pacific Has No Memory with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, including a performance with the Pacific Strings commemorating the first anniversary of the fires that devastated the Palisades and Altadena communities.
Her recent album  Beloved, featuring Billy Childs’s In the Arms of the Beloved alongside works by Ola Gjeilo and Eric Whitacre with Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, received a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Choral Performance. Other recent releases include Michael Daugherty’s Blue Electra, with the Albany Symphony and David Alan Miller, and Philip Glass’s New Chaconne and
Violin Concerto No. 1 with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In 2024, her recording of Márquez’s Fandango with Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic earned two Latin GRAMMY® Awards: Best Classical Album and Best Contemporary Composition. Since its 2021 Hollywood Bowl premiere, Fandango has been performed more than 40 times with 16 orchestras worldwide, including the LA Phil’s triumphant return to Carnegie Hall after a 32-year absence. Meyers reprised the work at the Hollywood Bowl in September with the LA Philharmonic under Giancarlo Guerrero.

She has appeared twice on The Tonight Show, Tiny Desk, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Evening at Pops, Great Performances, The View, The Emmy Awards, and in a Countdown with Keith Olbermann  segment that became the program’s third most-watched story of the year. She has appeared multiple times on the covers of Gramophone, Strings and The Strad and has released more than forty critically acclaimed recordings.

She has performed at numerous distinguished events, including the John Williams Hollywood Bowl Stage Naming, the Bicentennial Celebration of Australia; the opening of the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia; the GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends honoring John Williams; for Emperor and Empress Akihito of Japan; for Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in a Museumplein Concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; an A&E broadcast of the Beethoven Violin Concerto at the 40th Pablo Casals Festival with the Montreal Symphony and Krzysztof Penderecki and “The Star-Spangled Banner” at  T-Mobile Park  in Seattle and Dodger Stadium. Her recording of Somei Satoh’s Birds in Warped Time II was part of the winning presentation for the World Trade Center Memorial design.

Meyers is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Distinguished Alumna Award and an Honorary Doctorate from The Colburn School, and is a member of the Asian Hall of Fame. She serves on the Boards of The Juilliard School and the Dudamel Foundation. She performs on the legendary 1741 Ex-Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù violin, considered one of the finest-sounding violins in existence.

Born in San Diego and raised in Southern California, Meyers traveled eight hours round-trip from the Mojave Desert to Pasadena for lessons with Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld, practicing in the front of the family VW beetle. At 14, she moved to New York to study at The Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, and Felix Galimir; signed with management at 16; and recorded her debut album at 18 at Abbey Road Studios.


Laura jackson, Music Director and Conductor

An eloquent and articulate artist on and off the podium renowned for her dynamic leadership‭, ‬energetic performances‭, ‬and progressive vision‭, ‬American conductor Laura Jackson is praised for her innovation‭, ‬passion‭, ‬and commitment to the continued growth of‭ ‬the symphonic repertoire and expanding music’s impact within communities‭. ‬Having served as the fourth Music Director and Conductor of the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra‭ (‬Reno Phil‭) ‬since 2009‭, ‬her contract has been unanimously renewed through the end of the 2028-2029‭ ‬season‭, ‬ensuring that diverse‭, ‬compelling repertoire‭, ‬and creative community programming will continue through the organization’s 60th anniversary‭. ‬A 21st century conductor at home with repertoire from every era‭, ‬Jackson is recognized for her championing of new music‭, ‬her creativity with commissions‭, ‬and her commitment to mentoring and encouraging the next generation of musicians‭, ‬composers and women conductors‭. ‬She is in her third season as an official mentor to emerging women conductors across the globe in the Taki-Alsop Foundation’s Fellowship program‭. ‬With the Reno Phil‭, ‬she also partners with the Davidson Institute in Reno‭, ‬Nevada to feature their instrumental fellows in concert‭. ‬A frequent guest conductor‭, ‬she has led distinguished ensembles across the United States‭, ‬Canada‭, ‬France‭, ‬Poland‭, ‬Czech Republic‭, ‬Algeria‭, ‬and China‭, ‬and her relationships with orchestras continue to expand‭. ‬

A champion of living composers‭, ‬Laura Jackson created the Reno Philharmonic’s Composers in Residence initiative and has commissioned and presented several world premieres‭. ‬She has led over 50‭ ‬Reno Phil premieres and multiple Western U.S‭. ‬premieres‭. ‬Under her leadership‭, ‬the Reno Phil has expanded its community and education programs to include the Composers in Residence‭, ‬Conduct Us‭, ‬movies with live orchestra performances‭, ‬the annual Play for a Day‭, ‬and the youth orchestras have expanded from three to four ensembles‭. ‬Additionally‭, ‬live streaming of concerts was introduced in 2020‭. ‬www.laurajackson.net‭ ‬

  • Ticket Fees

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    📞 775-323-6393
    📍 925 Riverside Dr., Suite 3
    🕒 Mon–Fri, 10 AM–3 PM

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  • *Not ready to attend in person? Purchase an access link for our livestream or video-on-demand (available 10/2) and enjoy the concert from the comfort of home!

    How to View the Livestream Concert

    One day before the concert, ticketholders will receive an email with a link to the video. We recommend you access the link at least 10 minutes before the concert begins. If you do not receive a link, please check your spam & junk folders before contacting the box office. Livestream FAQ & SUPPORT.

  • Parking

    Patrons have several options for parking near the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. We recommend the following:

    Metered parking (pay Monday-Saturday 9am – 6pm; free evenings after 6pm and on Sundays)

    The open parking lot across from the Washoe County Court House (free on evenings and weekends). The entrance is located on Court St, between Virginia and Sierra St.

    The parking lot attached to Nevada State Bank (ONLY available free in the evenings and on weekends)

    Directions

    Directions from I-580 via Mill Street

    Take exit 66 for Mill St.

    -395 Northbound: exit 66 and turn left at Mill St.

    -395 Southbound: exit 66 and turn right at Mill St.

    Follow Mill St. about 1.5 miles

    Turn left on Lake St.

    Turn right on Court St.

    The Pioneer Center will be on your right

    Directions from I-80 via Virginia Street

    Take exit 13 for Downtown Reno/Virginia St.

    -I-80 Eastbound: exit 13 and turn right at N. Virginia St.

    -I-80 Westbound: exit 13 and turn left at N. Virginia St.

    Follow Virginia St. about 1 mile (cross the Truckee River).

    The Pioneer Center will be on your left

  • The Reno Phil’s community partners donate rooms for out of town musicians, food for events and many other needs. Without their generosity, we would not be able to provide the community with world-class, innovative music performances. We greatly appreciate their contribution to the performing arts, as well as helping keep the costs of concerts reasonable for our ticket buyers. If you’re coming from out of town and plan to stay in Reno after the concert, please consider reserving a room with one of our hotel partners.

    We hear from our partners that enjoying a good meal makes our concerts sound better. You should test that theory and let us know! Please consider dining with one of these supporting restaurants before or after a concert. And say thanks for us, too.

    Dining

    Beaujolais Bistro

    Hotels

    Grand Sierra Resort