Nebraska Brass & Friends

The Nebraska Brass continues its 2011-12 season with concerts featuring Lincoln percussionist Joe Holmquist. The program will include a potpourri of original works and entertaining transcriptions by composers such as Aaron Copland, Eric Ewazen, William Byrd, and Gwyneth Walker.

The Nebraska Brass has been reaching audiences in dozens of communities in the state since 1987, presenting a five-concert series each season in multiple cities. The ensemble performs a variety of brass ensemble literature and commissions new works for brass quintet, preserving and promoting this valuable art form. Educating students is a also a priority for the Nebraska Brass, and through the educational outreach program, Brass Goes to School, the ensemble has reached thousands of students for over a decade. This program places the Nebraska Brass in Lincoln and Omaha area schools, where they perform exciting and age-appropriate music, provide informative commentary about the music, and field a variety of questions.

Joe Holmquist is a new music specialist who has lived in Lincoln since 2000. His B.A. degree is from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and his M.M. degree is from New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studied with master teacher Vic Firth. As a freelance orchestral player, he has played with the Lincoln Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Minnesota Opera Orchestra. As a chamber music player, he has played and produced premiere performances of over 225 new works in 23 states from coast to coast and in 11 European countries. Small ensemble playing is what he likes the best!