LAS VEGAS - December 17, 2009 - The UNLV Ragtime Rebels Marimba Band perform in and around Death Valley Junction, 25-miles west of Pahrump, January 7 - 10. Part of the tour includes performing at the famed Amargosa Opera House January 9 & 10.

The band, lead by instructor Timothy Jones, includes DMA candidate Luke Thatcher; Masters candidates Ryan Simm, Jack Steiner, and Patrick Burke; Deborah Carpi, senior; Melaney Scarberry, junior; Melody Loveless, junior; Daniel Alameda, junior; and Charlie Gott, sophomore.

Performances are at 6 p.m. on January 7 at the Bad Water Saloon in Stovepipe Wells; 7:30 p.m. on January 8 in Furnace Creek; and 7 p.m. on January 9 and 2 p.m. on January 10 at the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction. The Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek performances are free. The Amargosa Opera House performances are $15 for adults and $12 for children. For tickets, please call 760-852-4441.

Owned by 85-year-old artist and former ballerina Marta Becket, the Amargosa Opera House under her direction has held performances steadily since February 10, 1968.

"I really wanted to give my students the experience of performing in this particular venue because it is such an incredible piece of history and Marta Becket is a true artist who found her calling and transformed a dusty, abandoned theatre into what has become a world-famous landmark," said Jones.

From Becket's website: "The audiences consisted of locals and curious tourists, and sometimes no one came at all. Working in the opera house cleaning up after a rainstorm, Marta had a flash of inspiration. She would paint an entire audience on the walls of the theater. It took four years to complete the murals on the walls. Then Beckett started work on the ceiling, which took another two years and was completed in 1974. ??"

Becket has had three movies made about her life, including the award-winning "Amargosa." She has been featured in National Geographic and many nationally televised programs.