Nebraska Concerts in May

NET Radio’s “Nebraska Concerts” series continues in May with programs featuring music performed by the Omaha Symphony, Ensemble Chaconne, the Nebraska Chamber Players and the Moran Woodwind Quintet, and helps Abendmusik at First-Plymouth celebrate “Forty Years of Favorites.” The series airs each Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on NET Radio, showcasing the best of recent musical events performed in Nebraska.

Sunday, May 5: The Omaha Symphony, under the direction of Thomas Wilkins, performs a program called “Prokofiev’s Fifth” at Omaha’s Holland Performing Arts Center. Dmitiri Kabalevsky’s “Overture to Colas Breugnon, Op. 24” opens the concert, and is followed by Alexander Borodin’s “In The Steppes of Central Asia,” and Dmitiri Shostakovich’s “Suite for Variety Orchestra #1.” Sergei Prokofiev’s “Symphony #5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100” closes the concert.

Sunday, May 1: From a Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music concert, Ensemble Chaconne reveals a repertoire of music from “European Masters in 18th Century England” for its concert at the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln. The ensemble plays the music of European composers who spent some time in England, mainly London, in the 18th century. On the program is music from George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Gottfried Finger, John Stanley, Thomas Linley the elder, Ignatius Sancho, Anne Ford, Johann Christian Bach, Rudolf Straube, Felice de Giardini, Carl Friedrich Abel, and Johan Christian Fischer.

Sunday, May 19: Abendmusik at First-Plymouth (formerly called Abendmusik: Lincoln) celebrates 40 years with this season-opening concert called “Encore: Forty Years of Abendmusik Favorites” performed at the series’ long-time venue, First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln. This program features some of the music performed over the 40 years of the concert series, with series founder Jack Levick back to conduct and accompany on organ. Current staff members Jeremy Bankson and Tom Trenney are also on hand to conduct and accompany on organ along with The Abendmusik Chorus, The Abendmusik Alumni Chorus, and The Plymouth Brass.

Sunday, May 26: The Nebraska Chamber Players play a septet and a sextet from one of its fall concerts in Studio 1 at NET in Lincoln. Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Septet, Op. 20” open the concert, and Ernst von Dohnanyi’s “Sextet, Op. 37” ends the concert. Also on this program is music performed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty artists, the Moran Woodwind Quintet. On this recital from Kimball Recital Hall in Lincoln the quintet performs Eugene Bozza’s “Variations sur un theme libre, Op. 42,” Heitor Villa-Lobos’s “Quintette (en forme de Choros),” Julio Medaglia’s “Det is de Brasilianer Luft (Suite Popular Brasileira), and Leos Janacek’s “Mladi (Youth).”

This weekly program is produced and edited by Dave Hughes, Genevieve Randall is scriptwriter and host, and most of the concerts are recorded by James Duchesneau and Jeff Smith.

Omaha Symphony concerts are recorded by Clete Baker of Studio B for Classical 90.7 KVNO.

UNL School of Music recordings are provided by Jeffrey O'Brien.

"Nebraska Concerts" programs are not available for purchase, or as a podcast.