Spring Concert
April 26, 2026 – 3PM – Burke High School
Join us for another wonderful concert of band music. We are happy to perform with the Beveridge Middle School Band under the direction of Andrew Braun.
More information to be available soon!
Celebrating 50 Years of Music
We are busy planning our 2026-2027 season. It will be a special one as we celebrate a half century of enriching our community through the power of wind band music.
For 50 years, our mission has remained the same, to bring people together through great music.
Find out more on our 50th Anniversary Page.
Don’t miss any of our exciting concerts! Become a fan and receive information and reminders about each of our upcoming events.
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!
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.
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.
Do Good Days – April 22-25, 2026
Your donation during this event enables us to continue preparations for our 50th Anniversary season that begins in October 2026. We continue to thrive as a performing arts organization through the generous support of our community and playing members.
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 volunteering and 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