Mr. Barton will collaborate with RCO music director Theodore Kuchar and the Orchestra in the world premiere of a concerto for didgeridoo and orchestra by George Warren as well as the American premiere of "From Ubirr" by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe. Jiyang Chen, the winner of the RCO's 2007 College Concerto Competition, will also perform. Tickets and more information are available by calling (775) 348-9413 or by visiting RenoChamberOrchestra.org.

William Barton is widely recognized as one of Australia's finest traditional didgeridoo players and a leading didgeridoo player in the classical world. He is also a teacher and composer for the instrument, and is committed to enhancing the instrument's profile to a worldwide audience.

Born in Mt. Isa in North Western Queensland, Barton was taught the instrument at an early age by his uncle, an Elder of the Wannyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga tribes of Western Queensland. He has appeared at music festivals and with symphony orchestras around the world, and has made a number of recordings. He continues to work collaboratively with orchestras, choral directors and composers in Australia, America and Europe developing new commissions for the didgeridoo and creating a strong and positive sustainable future for the instrument and Australia's cultural heritage.

Jiyang Chen, a student at the Eastman School of Music in New York, was the first prize winner of the Reno Chamber Orchestra's twentieth annual College Concerto Competition, held on January 6. The Competition features students attending Nevada colleges as well as Nevada residents attending schools out-of-state competing for prize money as well as the chance to appear as soloist with the Orchestra.

The RCO will conclude its 2006-07 season with concerts on April 14 and 15. Concertmaster Phillip Ruder will be featured in his farewell performances with the Orchestra, appearing as soloist with RCO music director and violist Theodore Kuchar in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. Mr. Ruder will be retiring at the end of the season. Theodore Kuchar, the music director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, has recently completed recording three compact discs of the music of Czech composer Bedrich Smetana with the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra of Ostrava, Czech Republic. The discs will be issued shortly on the Brilliant Classics label.

The Bretzlaff Foundation provided funding for these concerts and for the College Concerto Competition. This program has also been funded, in part, by a grant from the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. These concerts have also been made possible, in part, by the support of the City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission.

The Reno Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1974, provides the highest quality performances of repertoire written for smaller orchestra. It works to instill and promote the appreciation of chamber orchestra music among audiences diverse in age, backgrounds and interests throughout the region. -- www.renochamberorchestra.org