High school students from across the region came together to make music at the annual UNO Band and Orchestra Festival, which took place on January 30th and 31st.
The festival has been part of UNO since 2007, and was created by UNO’s School of Music.
It involves around 150 high school musicians who are split across two bands and one orchestra. They come from high schools across the region from states such as Iowa, South Dakota, and sometimes even Colorado.
Students submit an audition tape to an online portal and auditions get evaluated by the School of Music faculty.
The first day of the festival was filled with rehearsals, and high school students got to see UNO students and faculty perform.
A student flips through their music during a rehearsal at UNO’s Band and Orchestra Festival.
The second day included more rehearsals and master classes on specific instruments and skills, with an evening performance by the high school students.
Joshua Kearney, DMA, is the Director of Bands and Associate Professor of music at UNO. He has been part of the festival for 11 years.
He participates as a conductor of one of the two bands at the festival.
“I get to work with students directly, which is a lot of fun,” he said.
Leading up to the event, Kearney works to get everyone to attend the festival. He coordinates advertising and getting the word out, and also coordinates the auditions.
“My job is to get all the students put into groups, communicate what the event will look like, and get them to the event and checked in and registered,” he said.
A student checks in at UNO’s Band and Orchestra Festival.
If the music being performed is public domain, the orchestra may post the music online for students in advance. For the bands, the music is not shared with the students until they come to the festival, with the exception of excerpts for auditions.
Kearney thinks the festival is great at providing a large band or a large orchestra experience for students who may come from smaller schools and don’t get to have that experience.
He notes that some students may come from small programs that don’t have a full band or orchestra.
“By participating and auditioning for our band and orchestra festival, that might be the only time, or one of the only times, in their year where they get to play with a large group of students,” Kearney said.
Kearney describes the feeling of coming together and making music as “exhilarating.”
”I’m very energized by what the students continue to bring every year,” he said.
Kearney enjoys meeting new students, and helping them learn about UNO.
He said, “I would love to show off what we have to as many students as possible, and to let them know what’s possible in music,”