The Mackie 1202 is nice and offers a lot of flexibility. I think it is a slightly dumbed-down version of the 1402 VLZ3, though. I had originally just wanted a 4 > 2 solution but the Mackie 1402 offers a lot for not much green stuff. If I want to do a local rock band I can run all their gear through the Mackie and run ORTF/DIN plus flanking omnis and if it is possible to get that crap all balanced out, have a nice sound.
There is a reason it doesnt cost alot. For running live sound in small clubs they are fine. But since it looks like you do alot of classical and jazz , and your going to be using at least a couple of the preamps on the mixer, I would stay away from Mackie. The Mackie preamps in their mixers are weak and noisy. Set the gain up loud enough for classical and in between movements or whenever the dynamics go up and down in jazz your gonna hear alot of this:
sssssssssssssssssssssssss.
I have used just about every brand of mixer available at one time or the other and Mackie is down near the bottom. If you are using one to run a small club PA system then it would be fine, but for critical recording in quiet settings I wouldnt even consider it if you are going to use it's preamps. Just my opinion, but it is based on alot of experience with mixers in both live and studio settings. for what you are wanting to use it for, Have you considered something like this?
http://www.studioprojectsusa.com/sp828.htmleasier to haul around, much higher quality pres, mixes 8 channels down to a stereo mix, solo capability on each channel, great meters, signal and clip lights on each channel, phase reverse on each channel (a big plus if you are mixing a bunch of mics onstage). For what you are describing, this sounds like it would fit your needs much better. Also down the road if you wanted to get into multi-tracking you could use it as a front end, as it has directs on each channel. Just a thought.