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 held a 29-year long conducting role with the orchestra from 1995 - 2024. Mark Hatter has brought energy and flair to the September Pops Concerts, while Caleb Yanez Glickman and Amy McGuire have led the festive December ‘Christmas in Ridgecrest’ performances. Dr. David Newby and Andrew Loveland has been at the podium for the March 2024 and 2025 Winter Concerts, and Emmanuel Rojas was our featured conductor for the inspiring Young Artist Concert in May 2024, as well as Dr. David Newby for the Young Artist Concert in May 2025.

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.

Christmas In Ridgecrest 2026 Conductor

Saturday December 5, 2026

Benjamin Beckman

‍ Benjamin Beckman is a Los Angeles-based conductor, composer, and pianist. He is a co-founder and the Artistic Director of Park City Opera.

In the 2026-2027 season, Beckman conducts Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Verdi's Falstaff with Park City Opera. He makes conducting debuts with Pacific Opera Project, leading Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and the Desert Community Orchestra, conducting their Christmas in Ridgecrest 2026 concert.

As a composer, Beckman’s major orchestral music has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, the Yale Symphony Orchestra and the Yale Undergraduate Chamber Orchestra, the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra.

Beckman holds a master’s degree in composition from the USC Thornton School of Music, and he holds an undergraduate degree in music from Yale. Ben is also an alumnus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Composer Fellowship Program, the National Youth Orchestra of the USA Composer Apprenticeship, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Interlochen, and is a member of the Salastina Composer Collective.