LINCOLN – The Nebraska Music Education Association (NMEA) has announced the high school students selected to participate in the 2024 Nebraska All-State Ensembles. Each year more than 2,000 of the best musicians in the state in grades 9-12 audition for placement in one of four available ensembles. Selection in one of these groups is one of the highest musical honors attainable in Nebraska.
These selected students will take part in the 2025 Nebraska All-State Ensembles Nov. 20-22 on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. This will include several rehearsals with nationally recognized conductors during the NMEA Conference/ In-Service Clinic. Each ensemble will perform in concerts on Saturday, November 22 at the Lied Performing Arts Center.
Ensembles include the All-State Band,All-State Chorus,All-State Jazz Band, and All-State Orchestra. All are welcome to attend these incredible performances at the Lied Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available to the public for $26 each.
The Nebraska All-State performers represent collaboration and creativity in its highest musical form. The high school ensembles consist of a concert band band, mixed chorus, jazz band, and orchestra. Students were chosen through an audition process. The band will have 153 instrumentalists, the mixed choir 440 vocalists, the jazz band 20 instrumentalists, and the orchestra 134 instrumentalists. Eligible students were chosen by their high school directors to audition and compete against top students for a spot in these state honor ensembles.
Selected students will be rehearsing a challenging repertoire in preparation for performing under the direction of four of the most prominent conductors in the United States: Colonel Don Schofield, Commander and Conduc tor of the United StatesAir Force Band (Band); Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, Professor Emerita of Music at Calvin University (Chorus); Dr. Eric Richards, Director of Bands and Jazz Studies at Sheridan College (Jazz Band); and Fernanda Lastra, Assistant Conductor and Diversity Fellow at Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra).
Among those selected for the All-State Choir was Jack Berg, a senior at Osmond High School. In addition, Osmond’s music director, Christalin Ginn, received word earlier this year that the Osmond High School choir has been selected to perform at the conference.
Ginn commented, “It is a dream for a music teacher to have someone make the All-State ensembles in Lincoln, and not only have the Osmond students made this dream a reality for me now for four years in a row, but I also get the privilege of sharing this mountain-top experience with all our high school singers and their families. We hope to see the Osmond community come down to Lincoln on Nov. 22 to support us as our high school choir performs at 10:30 a.m. in the Westbrook Music Building, Room 130.”
