09/03/2026
If you had encountered Rodolfo Fernandez during his 1980s and ’90s heyday in Las Vegas, you would not have been surprised to learn he was a conductor. He looked the part: “He had the most magnificent head of hair. Legendary,” says French horn player Beth Lano. “With that hair and the mustache, he cut quite the figure in his concert attire.” His was a face destined to be framed by arms moving in fluid, precise musical notation.
In addition to being a talented cellist himself, Fernandez, who died in April, for decades conducted the Nevada Chamber Symphony — previously the Serenata Chamber Orchestra — which essentially served as the house ensemble of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District before branching out as a nonprofit. He was 94, a leading figure from a heady time in Las Vegas culture, when the valley was building stunning new libraries, KNPR was recently underway, the city had an arts council, and more.
Fernandez was, by all accounts — and in contrast to the popular stereotype of overbearing orchestra leaders in movies like Tár — distinctly nontyrannical.
✍️ Scott Dickensheets
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