Community Educational Outreach
UNO's School of Music is dedicated to enriching our community through festivals and camps for all ages.
Festival and Camp Information
Woodwind Festival
Comprising all woodwind instruments at the UNO School of Music, this festival includes opportunties for students to attend All-State mock auditions and help session, learn audition and practice tips, attend a reed care and maintenance clinic, visit with music and instrument exhibitors, and much more!
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Please direct all questions to Dr. Christine Beard by email at cbeard@unomaha.edu.
Brass Day
This festival is designated for outstanding high school brass players. Annually over 70 students participate from high schools throughout the Midwest. We aim to expose students to challenging ensemble repertoire and other excellent musicians. Clinics and rehearsals throughout the day focus on the fundamental skills required for good ensemble playing and masterclasses designated to develop students' abilities on their chosen instrument.
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Please direct all questions to Prof. Jason Johnson by email at jkjohnson@unomaha.edu.
BOCH Festival | High School Band & Orchestra Honor Festival
The School of Music of the University of Nebraska at Omaha hosts the annual Bands and Orchestra Honor (BOCH) Festival each year. In January, over 300 high school students from across Nebraska and the Midwest come to the BOCH Festival to work with nationally-renowned clinicians.
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UNO Great Plains Jazz Festival
Founded in 1973, UNO's Great Plains Jazz Festival is one of the premier educational jazz festivals in the nation. Featuring nationally renowned adjudicators and clinicians, the festival is designed to be an educational experience for band directors and students from middle school through college.
Ensembles perform for written and taped comments and then proceed to a different room for a clinic from one of the adjudicators. In addition to the individualized clinic that each band receives, participants also have the opportunity to attend general clinic sessions presented by guest artists and adjudicators. The highlight of the festival is the opportunity to hear professional jazz concerts for free or greatly reduced prices.
Jazz artists that have recently appeared at the Great Plains Jazz Festival include the Brubeck Brothers, Bela Fleck, the USAF Noteables Jazz Ensemble, the Jim Widner Big Band, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Jim Pugh, Marvin Stamm, Hubert Laws, and the Blue Note 7 featuring Ravi Coltrane and Nicholas Payton.
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UNO Maverick PianoFest
Maverick PianoFest is designed to foster students' artistic development and create a network of musicians from varied backgrounds. Students are invited to participate in a two-day event of master classes, a faculty recital, round-table discussions, and a competition, facilitated by world-class teachers and performers from top training institutes in the country. Maverick PianoFest also offers the opportunity for teachers and the general public interested in observing the activities during the day.
More Information or email Dr. Kristin Taylor.
UNO Jazz Camp
The UNO Jazz Camp and the Jim Widner Big Band have combined their efforts to bring you some of the top jazz educators and performers in the country. This big band camp is designed for enthusiastic instrumental students grades 7 and older to learn more about jazz theory, improvisation and performance.
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