Cowboy poetry, range stories, classical piano at BAC

The Brewery Arts Center is walking both sides of the street over the next few days, offering stories and reports from the range and classical music by a nationally known pianist.

Saturday night at 8, Larry Maurice and John Tyson bring "Cowboy Poetry and Western Music" to the new performance hall in the BAC complex, 551 W. King St.

Maurice has written cowboy poetry since he was a child. For the last 20 years, he's worked as a cowboy, horse wrangler and back woods packer in eastern Nevada's high deserts. He leads a string of pack mules into the mountains, joins a horse drive in the Owens Valley of California, or works long-horned cattle up by Virginia City.

Recently, he's had to juggle his need to be out on the range on a horse with his busy entertaining schedule. He's admired not only for cowboy poetry, but for his skill in bringing the history of the West to life.

He does it all -- master of ceremonies for rodeos, parades, mounted shooting competitions or singing the national anthem at major sporting events. He enjoys roaming the country, talking to children about the real West and how the cowboy continues to play a role in its development.

He recently hosted two TV specials for the Fox Network about the Reno Rodeo. His one-man show "Cowboy: The Spirit, the Lore, the Legacy" keeps him on the road.

In July 2000, Maurice was honored with the Will Rogers Cowboy Award for Cowboy Poet of the Year. Saturday's audience members can pick up his CD, nominated as Album of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.

For 15 years, Tyson has traveled the backroads and canyons of Nevada seeking stories and locations that capture the character of the state. Viewers of Channel 8 KOLO in Reno have seen his TV reports "John Tyson's Journal," airing Tuesdays and Thursdays as part of a 6:30 p.m. program. He has turned those reports into four videos.

Tyson is also a deputy sheriff and range-management officer. His law enforcement career has spanned more than 30 years, including a stint as chief of police in Eureka Springs, Ark.

He is a 25-year steam locomotive engineer for the V &T Railroad in Virginia City and the Ghost Train in Ely.

Tyson uses his talent as a spokesman for Nevada by giving a dozen or more speeches each month to groups. He received his formal musical training at the Cape Cod Conservatory of Music.

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On Monday, a different kind of music will flow in the hall when pianist John Ferguson performs a diverse program of classical music.

He will offer originals, contemporary classics, rare and unusual classical pieces, jazz and experimental pieces.

IF YOU GO

What: "Cowboy Poetry and Western Music" with Larry Maurice and John Tyson

Where: Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall, 499 King St.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $15 general admission, $12 for BAC members and seniors; $5 for students with valid IDs and Free for children 12 and younger

IF YOU GO

What: Pianist John Ferguson plays classical and contemporary music

Where: Performance Hall, Brewery Arts Center, 499 King St.

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday

Tickets: $12 general admission; $10 for BAC members and seniors; $5 for students with valid IDS; and free for children 12 and younger.