From music and charity to awards shows and TED talks, Reno is gearing up for a busy fall.

Avant-garde cellist Zoe Keating picked up a cello in music class at school when she was 8 years old. Growing up in England, her family relocated to the U.S. when she was 11 and cello was not an option in her American music class. Her mother drove her to a town an hour away for private lessons.

The Nightingale Family Foundation has invited the internationally acclaimed cellist and composer for a benefit concert at the Reno Philharmonic. The proceeds will assist the Phil’s education and youth outreach initiatives. Go see her at the Nevada Museum of Art’s sky-high Skyroom on November 12 at 8pm. Buy tickets here.

The modern composer is known for weaving her live cello with laptop-synced notes, resulting in classical ballads. Keating has several times reached the number one spot on iTunes classical charts with her self-released albums.

Last year, the Reno Phil Association Kids program taught more than 270 elementary students the violin. The concert is to help the program, which is 98% grant-based, and to raise funds to pay the teachers that run it. Keating last played for President Barack Obama in the White House this October. Because of her beginnings with the cello, she says that music education is close to her heart.

Keating currently has been volunteering with The Open String, a San Francisco nonprofit that helps musicians in need and schools that need quality instruments. She hopes her Reno debut will help make more music accessible to children in the community.

The Reno famous will be getting the red-carpet treatment on the world’s largest indoor stage. Celebrity presenters will announce winners from open envelopes and photographers will be flashing their cameras. The inaugural Forte Awards (Fans of Reno-Tahoe Entertainment) will recognize talent at the Grand Sierra Resort Grand Theatre stage on November 3.

The most popular performing artists have been chosen in online voting that ended October 24 from three hundred nominees in 39 different categories ranging from music and theater to dance, comedy and magic. Volunteer judges viewed and approved submissions by acts or fans.

Buy tickets via TicketMaster, or in person at the GSR box office. Net proceeds for ticket sales to the gala will be donated to local non-profits the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the Nevada Humane Society and the Veterans Resource Center of America. Music and television celebrity presenters will include executive Andy Schuon, who began his broadcasting career in Reno radio and has held top spots with MTV and Warner Bros. Records, and Doug “Cosmo” Clifford, an inductee in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with bandmates in Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The event is billed as black-tie, but tuxes and evening gowns aren’t mandatory. All acts are based in the northern Nevada/Lake Tahoe/Sierra Crest region and their profiles are listed on the Forte website. There were 19 music, 8 theater, 7 dance and 3 comedy/magic categories.

Also at the Grand Sierra Resort Grand Theater, TEDx for University of Nevada, Reno will arrive on January 21, 2017. Tickets include more than 15 TEDx talks, 5 performances, a boxed lunch and refreshments. This new venue will seat 2,700 guests and is a natural fit for this popular event.

The event this year has 7 local speakers, 10 non-local speakers and 5 performers all from a wide mix of backgrounds, expertise and genres. Some include country music singer CAM, O.A.R. lead singer Marc Roberge, the Warning, Neon Trees’ Tyler Glenn, comedian Michael Jr., Executive Vice President of Strategy for Switch Adam Kramer, Internationally recognized models Iskra Lawrence and Ebonee Davis, UNR faculty members Albert Lee, Ashley Greenwald Tragash and Vanessa Vancour and many more.

The TEDxUniversityofNevada video uploaded from last year’s event has become one of the most popular talks ever uploaded to the TEDx YouTube channel. The video was posted online in mid-September and has already seen more than 1 million views. Don’t miss this great event.

Follow Luxury Reno Homes on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to stay up to date on all things real estate, as well as Montrêux events and what’s happening in the Reno-Tahoe area. For real estate inquiries, stop by the beautiful Montrêux Welcome Center at 16475 Bordeaux Dr. in Reno, NV or call us at 775.849.9444. The Welcome Center is open 7 days a week, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.