Desert Community Orchestra

About the DCO

The Desert Community Orchestra was formed in 1960 and has been an iconic part of the community of Ridgecrest, California ever since. Its mission is to provide live performances of orchestral music to the local region, provide local musicians an opportunity to perform and participate as soloists, and encourage young talented musicians to further their musical education with financial support through music scholarships.

            Every spring young musicians are invited to audition for the Peter Pinto Music Scholarship Award. The DCO also annually sponsors The Young Artist Competition. Student musicians audition for the privilege of being accompanied in performance with the full orchestra. The orchestra has featured musicians as young as 12 years old in their annual “Touch of Class” concert.

            DCO has hosted international guest soloists over the years. The list of celebrities includes Alan Paul of Manhattan Transfer, Camilla Arnold, Terry Glenny, Diva Jones, Gerardo Tamez, Sherri Stark, Lawrence Spector, Bethany Grace Folsom, and The Neave Trio.

Robert Martinez conducted the orchestra from 1995 - 2024. Maestro Mark Hatter conducted the September 2024 Pops Concert, and Caleb Yanez Glickman will be conducting the Christmas concert.

Meet the Musician

Read the Daily Independent interviews with current and former members of the orchestra: Robby Martinez, Lydia Washburn, Amber Petersen, Amanda Elfrink, Bianca Samaniego, Andrew Richards, Brandon Burkhardt, Clare A. Hatter, Lisa Austin, and Heidi Miller-Costanzo.

Meet our Next Conductor for the Christmas 2024 Concert

Praised for his superb leadership of the orchestra, Caleb Yanez Glickman was recently appointed Associate Conductor of Opera Modesto, where he works as an integral part of the music staff bringing opera to California’s Central Valley. He is also the music director of the Hollywood Youth Orchestra, where he leads programming dedicated to cultivating community interest in classical music.

Since 2023, he has conducted several productions with Pacific Opera Project in Los Angeles, quickly becoming one of their mainstay conductors. In addition to POP and Opera Modesto, Caleb has also recently worked with Opera in the Ozarks, Opera Southwest, Opera Saratoga, and Savannah Opera.

Caleb is a zealous advocate of bringing classical music to new audiences. He was recently the music director for Opera Modesto’s world premiere production of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant, an American Lyric Theater Co-commission. This season, he will be music director for Lyric Opera of Orange County’s production of William Schuman’s baseball opera, The Mighty Casey. Caleb is thrilled to be expanding his portfolio in California by joining the Desert Community Orchestra as Guest Conductor for their December Concert.