News & Updates

The Band Alumni Association Board of Directors/Officers present you with a unique challenge- read below for more exciting details!

With the rebuilding of Westbrook Music Building starting, there is a wonderful opportunity to create a state-of-the-art band rehearsal hall. Jack and Mary Alice Snider left a sizeable amount at the University of Nebraska Foundation earmarked for “costs associated with constructing and equipping the ‘Lentz-Snider’ Hall, Glenn Korff School of Music, Hixson Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.”

After a meeting with the dean of Fine Arts, the band staff, and the Foundation, the Snider family came up with the following:

The Nebraska Bands Program has been at the forefront of performance and pedagogy for more than 140 years. We look forward to a new rehearsal space with technology that will enable us to:

Link sections of the Cornhusker Marching Band who are now rehearsing in various spaces to enable full ensemble preparation while indoors.

Share cutting edge rehearsal techniques from our Ensemble Performance Lab with partner ensembles nationwide.

Engage in virtual side-by-side coaching with young bands that cannot afford a trip to the Lincoln campus.

Collaborate with composers worldwide to prepare and premiere new works.

Engage guest artists remotely to share their expertise with our students.

Capture the work of conducting students and enable concurrent voice-over coaching on video.

…and even more applications we’re only just beginning to imagine.

It is estimated that only $12,000 more is needed to make all this happen. The Band Alumni Association presents you all with an opportunity- we will match all contributions up to $6000! We are hoping that you all will help us reach our goal over the next few months!

Contributing is easy via the University of Nebraska Foundation website for the Jack and Mary Alice (Petie) Snider Fund. Just click the GIVE NOW button.

You can also donate via our registration page: https://nebandalums.org/registration/

If you prefer to go ‘old school,’ you can send a check to:

Jack and Mary Alice (Petie) Snider Fund #01074861
℅ University of Nebraska Foundation
1010 Lincoln Mall, Suite 300
Lincoln, NE 68508

Any amount you can send is greatly appreciated. This is a very exciting project that goes way beyond buying chairs and music stands.

Please share with other band alumni, friends, family, fans, etc.

Remember to ask your employer for a contribution match!

We were given the Louisiana Tech game on Saturday, Sept 23rd! We were told that we will not know the game time until 6-12 days before, but we hope you will be able to join us for a day of fun!

Here is the form for registering online (you can also print a PDF if you need to mail it in!):

https://nebandalums.org/registration/

Please check the Reunion weekend tab on our website for TONS more info: https://nebandalums.org/reunion-weekend/

We are also fundraising for the new band hall! The BAA would LOVE to match your donations up to $6000! Donate to “Other Projects” on the registration page so your donation is matched so our goal of the BAA raising the final $12,000 to complete the project is met!

All registrations for the reunion are due by midnight on Friday, Sept 1– no exceptions- don’t miss out!

Reunion will be September 22-23, 2023. The game is Louisiana Tech. Registration will open sometime in July.

To provide scholarships for Physician Assistant students at UNMC

On April 9, 2022, our alum, Ryan Houser, died unexpectedly in an automobile accident. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 2003-2009 where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and athletic training. During his time at UNL, Ryan played played trumpet in the Cornhusker Marching Band, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Band. He loved the Cornhusker Marching Band so much he decided to take six years to graduate.

Ryan later attended the Physician’s Assistants program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, graduating in 2017. At the time of his passing Ryan worked as a PA at MD West One Orthopedics.

A scholarship in his name has been created to provide scholarships to the Physician Assistant students at UNMC. This scholarship is very important to his family to keep his memory and legacy alive. The family is hoping to raise enough money so the scholarship can become an endowment and thus a permanent scholarship.

The scholarship donation page is currently active, and collecting donations until March 31, 2023.

The 2022 Russ Swanson Outstanding Band Member Award was announced February 10, 2023 at the Band Banquet, held at Memorial Stadium. The band department chooses one recipient, and our Band Alumni Association awards this person a plaque and cash award. This year’s commemorative award was made by band alumnus Nathan Nelson of Rooted Woodworking. Julie Duensing and Ranelle Maltas represented the BAA and were able to speak with the current band members about the BAA and what we do. Congratulations to all CMB members for a great season!

Katherine Schmit is a senior music education major with an emphasis in trumpet at UNL. During her time at UNL, she has been a member of the Cornhusker Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Jazz Orchestra. As a member of the Cornhusker Marching Band, Katherine served as a trumpet rank leader and drum major. She is a member of the Epsilon Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, and served two years as Vice President for Membership.

Katherine is a co-founder of Quintessential Brass, a student-led brass quintet which has been playing together for the past four years. She is also a member of UNL’s Teacher Scholars Academy. Katherine was recently named Outstanding Undergraduate Artist/Scholar for the Glenn Korff School of Music and will receive the Student Leadership Award for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts in May.

Outside of school, Katherine loves teaching trumpet lessons and hopes to grow her studio in the future. After graduation, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in trumpet performance and continue her career as a performer and teacher.