NWS Season 47 – 2023-2024

There is no admission charged for any of this season’s NWS concerts.
Your generous donation can help us keep providing free concerts.
Check out the Support Us page for more ways you can provide financial support for your community band.

Sunday, June 9 – 6PM
Mainelli Center at St. Robert Bellarmine

The NWS Swingtones Big Band performs first at 6PM followed by the Nebraska Wind Symphony about 7PM. The NWS Swingtones are led by Brian Lund, trombone. The Nebraska Wind Symphony is under the direction of Music Director Dr. Joshua Kearney and Associate Director Keith Davis.

The NWS Swingtones presents music from the days of the big bands like Glenn Miller, Tommie Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Woody Herman The concert will feature the music of George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Joe Garland, Henry Mancini and many others.

The repertoire for the Wind Symphony for this concert include Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed; Breath of the Mountains by Cait Nishimura; Montmartre March from “Paris Suite” by Hayden Wood; Dances in the Canebrakes by Florence Price; Armed Services Medley arr. Martin; and America the Beautiful by Carmen Dragon. We will also feature Dayton Linhardt, NWS 2023 Scholarship winner and Clarinet soloist on Hillandale Waltzes by Victor Babin.

Check out the program from this concert.

Wednesday, July 3 – 6PM
Ralston Granary Green

The NWS Swingtones Big Band performs first at 6PM followed by the Nebraska Wind Symphony about 7PM. The NWS Swingtones are led by Dan Kingkade, saxophone. The Nebraska Wind Symphony is under the direction of Guest Conductor and former Music Director Dr. Timothy Yontz and Associate Director Keith Davis.

The NWS Swingtones bring back the sounds of the big bands like Glenn Miller, Tommie Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Les Brown. The concert will feature the music of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Joe Garland, Woody Herman and many others.

The repertoire for the Wind Symphony for this concert include Montmartre March from “Paris Suite” by Hayden Wood; Dances in the Canebrakes by Florence Price; Armed Services Medley arr. Martin; America the Beautiful by Carmen Dragon; Let Freedom Ring by Ryan Nowlin; Raider’s March by John Williams; National Emblem March by Edwin Bagley; Chester Overture by William Schumann; Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa.


NWS Hosts ACB Regional Connection
April 26-27, 2024 – UNO Strauss PAC


The Association of Concert Bands (ACB) Regional Connection Event provides an opportunity for adult instrumentalists in community bands in the midwest area to gather, share ideas and some great concert band music.
Evening and afternoon concerts are free and open to the public as part of this gathering of concert bands at UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center, 60th and Dodge. Read more about this event and the ACB at the ACB Regional Event page.


A Grand Finale – Saturday, April 27th, 2024 – 7:30 PM

The Nebraska Wind Symphony presents “A Grand Finale” as the final concert at the Association of Concert Bands Omaha Regional Connection. The concert will take place on Saturday, April 27th, at 7:30 PM in the Jan & John Christensen Concert Hall at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Janet A. & Willis S. Strauss Performing Arts Center. The ensemble is conducted by Dr. Josh Kearney, Keith Davis, and guest conductor Don Jacobsen.

We also feature the Offut Brass!

The repertoire for “A Grand Finale” includes a captivating selection of pieces that showcase the ensemble’s musical versatility. This concert promises an evening of musical excellence and a celebration of the vibrant tradition of wind band music.

Repertoire to be selected from: Crown Imperial by William Walton; Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Grainger, conducted by Don Jacobson; Breath of the Mountains by Cait Nishimura, conducted by Associate Music Director Keith Davis; Where It Rains Like Diamonds by Henry Smith; Suite from Mass by Leonard Bernstein, with the Offutt Brass; and Urban Light by James David.

Get the flyer for this event.
See the printed program.

We thank Dietze Music for sponsoring this event.


Winter Light – Sunday, Dec 10, 2023 – 3PM

The University of Nebraska at Omaha Bands and the Nebraska Wind Symphony
UNO Strauss Performing Arts Center

The UNO University Band and the Nebraska Wind Symphony present a shared concert on Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 3PM at UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center.

The program begins with the UNO University Band, a non-auditioned ensemble open to all UNO students, faculty, and staff. 

Prof. Peter Wilger directs the ensemble in Kalos Eidos by Carol Britten Chambers, Ritmos de la Tierra by Victoriano Valencia, and Incandescence by Adrian B Simms.

The Nebraska Wind Symphony, directed by Dr. Joshua Kearney and Associate Director Keith Davis, performs the second half of the program. Their selections are from the following: The March of the Toys by Victor Herbert, Winter Milky Way by Yukiko Nishimura, L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2 “Farandole” by Georges Bizet, The Eighth Candle by Steve Reisteter, Minor Alterations by David Lovrien, and Sketches on a Tudor Psalm by Fisher Tull ​​based on a sixteenth-century setting of the Second Psalm by Thomas Tallis.
Check out the flyer for this program.
Check out the concert program produced by the UNO Band.

NWS Fall Concert – A Spooky Gathering
Sunday, October 15, 3PM – Bennington High School

NWS collaborated with the Bennington and Bennington South Middle Schools for the opening concert of our 47th Season. The 3PM concert was at Bennington High School, 16610 Bennington Road, Bennington, NE, on Sunday, October 15, 2023. The program had a Halloween theme in appreciation of the season! A great crowd joined us for this celebration of musicianship at all ages!

The combined Bennington Middle and Bennington South Middle school bands directed by Landon Barada performed Thrill Ride by Brian Balmages; Hedwig’s Theme by John Williams; Night Fury by Carol Britten Chambers; and ended rocking it with Dr. Rockenstein by Steve Hodges. Mr. Ben Coatney (director of bands at Bennington High School) was a guest conductor.

NWS joined the combined Bennington bands to perform Dreamsong by Richard Saucedo, featuring piano soloist Jan Braden, accompanist at Bennington High School, followed by the Nebraska premiere of Dance Of The Shadows by Adrian Sims.
The Nebraska Wind Symphony, directed by Dr. Joshua Kearney finished the concert with selections from the following: Noisy Wheels of Joy by Eric Whitacre; Ghost Apparatus by David Biedenbender; Hung Aloft the Night by Anthony O’Toole, conducted by Keith Davis; Gadget by Randall Standridge, conducted by Landon Barada; Nobles of the Mystic Shrine by John Philip Sousa; and Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg.
Check out the flyer for this concert.
Review the concert program for this concert.

NWS Season 47 – 2023-2024 – Formal Concert Schedule
Fall Concert  – Sunday October 15, 2023 – 3PM – Bennington High School – with Bennington Middle School Band
Holiday Concert – Sunday, December 10, 2023 – 3PM – UNO Strauss PAC  – with UNO University Band
Winter Concert – Sunday, February 18, 2024 – 3PM –  “Middle School All-Stars”  – UNO Strauss PAC
Association of Concert Bands (ACB) regional event– April 26-27 – UNO Performing Arts Center – see the event page for more details
UNO Wind Ensemble concert – Friday, April 26, 2024 – 7PM – UNO Strauss PAC
Spring Concert – Saturday, April 27, 2024 – 7:30PM – UNO Strauss PAC – ACB regional conference closing concert

Summer Concert Schedule – Both Summer Concerts will feature the Swingtones and the NWS
Summer Concert – Sunday, June 9, 2024 – 6:00PM – St. Robert Bellarmine Parish Center
July 4th Concert – Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024 – 6:00PM – Ralston Granary Green

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