Winter All-Star Concert
March 1, 2026 – 7:30M – UNO Strauss
You won’t want to miss our Winter concert Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 7:30PM at UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center. NWS performs under the direction of Music Director Josh Kearney and Associate Music Director Keith Davis. We welcome former NWS Music Director and composer Larry MacTaggart to direct his new work for concert band.
This year we showcase over 20 Trombone students chosen by their directors to participate as this year’s Middle School All-Stars . NWS provides a rich and exciting musical experience for them with challenging music and a chance to work with local clinician, Jay Wise! These students perform with NWS Meredith Willson’s iconic Seventy-Six Trombones and Nathan Farrell’s lively All Aboard.
We also feature 2025 Memorial Scholarship recipient Benjamin Prentice, a University of Nebraska at Kearney student, performing Lars-Erik Larsson’s Concertino for Trombone and Band.
NWS premiers Clarior e Tenebris (Brighter from Darkness) by Larry MacTaggart. This moving work was composed to honor the memory of Alan Lightbody, an NWS and PAC Band trombonist, who passed away from cancer in late 2025.
The program also includes Sousa’s The Black Horse Troop march, Suite Divertimento by Jay Gilbert, and Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Jesters from The Snow Maiden.
All of the NWS concerts this season are free to the public. Donations are appreciated.
View the concert flyer
View the concert program
Special pre-concert performance in the lobby.
Come early to hear the NWS trombone section performing at 7:00pm in the lobby! Selections to be performed are by Haydn, Culver, Biebl, and Berlin.
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All NWS concerts are free and open to the public.
Your generous donation along with those of businesses, playing members, and our friends throughout the Omaha area make this possible.
Thank you for supporting NWS and helping us continue to provide free concerts!
For any fans of Jazz music
NWS is giving away two FREE tickets to the Miles Davis tribute: UNLIMITED MILES on April 11, at the Orpheum Theater. You won’t want to miss this stunning tribute performance from John Beasley, honoring the incredible influence of Miles Davis.
WINNERS of the ULTIMATE MILES Giveaway will be announced following our FREE winter concert on Sunday, March 1 at 7:30PM at UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center.
This ticket giveaway drawing is through our Instagram and Facebook social media.
ENTER by Viewing our post on Instagram or on Facebook
or use the QR Codes from our flyer for this giveaway.
1. FOLLOW US
2. LIKE this post
3. provide a comment & TAG friends, family, fellow music enthusiasts!
The winner(s) will be selected via randomization upon completion of all three entry qualifiers.
Please feel free to share with other friends or family who you think may be interested in free tickets to the UNLIMITED MILES show!
NWS Scholarship Program
The 2026 NWS Memorial Scholarship Competition application period is from January 1, 2026 thru April 30, 2026. See our scholarship page for more information about the competition and how to apply.
Congratulations to these students who have been awarded scholarships of $1,500 and $1,000 in 2025:
Benjamin Prentice – Senior Trombone student at University of NE at Kearney
Kade Duering – incoming freshman F Horn student at University of NE at Omaha
Your financial support helps us continue to provide financial resources to young people who participate in post college/university music programs. To support our scholarships, make a gift to NWS in honor of or in memory of a loved one or special friend. On our giving platform, select NWS Scholarship Fund and indicate who you would like to honor or remember with this donation. Or just make a donation to this fund because you like to help the development of young musicians.
Holiday Concert – December 7, 2025
3:00PM – UNO Strauss
The Nebraska Wind Symphony and the UNO University Band present a shared concert on Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 3PM at UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center. We invite you to bring the whole family to get into the spirit of the season with some cherished classics and fresh new works for concert band.
There is no admission charged for this concert. Your free will donation is appreciated by both UNO Bands and the Nebraska Wind Symphony.
The program begins with the UNO University Band, a non-auditioned ensemble open to all UNO students, faculty, and staff under the direction of Professor Peter Wilger and Lance Matice. Their selections include: Illumination by David Maslanka, Daydream by Timothy Mahr, Caribana Afterparty by Omar Thomas, Three Ayres from Gloucester, and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride.
The Nebraska Wind Symphony, directed by Music Director Dr. Joshua Kearney and Associate Director Keith Michael Davis perform the second half of the program. Music by NWS in includes The First Snow by Anthony O’Toole, A Rhapsody on Christmas Carols by Claude Smith, O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by Leon Jessel, and Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed. The concert concludes with a march with a surprising Christmas connection.
Giving Tuesday – December 1, 2025
Thanks to our generous donors we raised $5530 during Share Omaha’s Giving Tuesday! This is 92% of our $6000 goal.
Your donation helps us purchase new music, replace and repair large equipment, pay our dedicated part-time staff, cover rehearsal and performance venue fees, and support special programs such as our Middle School All-Stars. Thank you for your generous support of the Nebraska Wind Symphony, Omaha’s Community Concert Band!
Visit our SHARE Omaha page
Our thanks to SHARE Omaha for continuing to sponsor this giving event.
SHARE Omaha’s Mission is to help nonprofits achieve their missions by inspiring support and serving. Their goal is to change the giving culture of the metro area.
2025-2026 Concert Season
We welcome you to embark on a wonderful season of music for the community as we present our 49th concert season under the direction of music director Josh Kearney and associate director Keith Davis. Throughout the season NWS will be joined by guests conductors and musicians from our local community and beyond.
October 19, 2025 – UNO Strauss Performing Arts Center – 7:30 PM
December 7, 2025 – UNO Strauss Performing Arts Center – 3:00 PM – with the UNO University Band
March 1, 2026 – UNO – 7:30 PM – with the Middle School All-Stars
April 26, 2026 – Burke High School – 3:00 PM – with Beveridge Middle School
Summer Concerts with NWS Swingtones
June 7, 2026 – St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church – time TBD
July 3, 2026 – The Capital District – time TBD
Thank You! for Supporting NWS!
NWS relies on financial support from its playing members, concert patrons, and businesses and individuals from around the Omaha metropolitan area. These gifts help us to pay for rehearsal and concert venues, music director and other part-time staff salaries, new music purchase and rental, performance rights, insurance, replacement equipment, and so many other things.
Find out more about these ways to provide your financial support to NWS:
Direct Donation – Sponsor a Concert – Purchase a Program Advertisement – ShareOmaha Giving Events – Participate in a Giving Program and fund us through your normal purchases
Thanks to the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment for their grant support of concerts during each season.
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with the support of the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment