Brass Day
Open to students in grades 9-12, the 2023 UNO Brass Day will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 8th, 2023!
- Prof. Jason Johnson, Trumpet, Brass Area Coordinator
- Dr. Jesse McBee, Trumpet, Jazz Faculty
- Prof. Ross Snyder, Horn
- Dr. Pete Madsen, Trombone, Jazz Area Coordinator
Conductor, UNO Brass Day Brass Choir
Dr. Joshua Kearney, UNO Director of Bands
Prof. Jason Johnson, UNO Brass Area Coordinator
Click here to register for Brass Day.
Click here for Brass Day Schedule.
Click here for a map of UNO's campus.
Final Concert & Attire
The Brass Day Gala Concert will take place in the Concert Hall at 7:30pm. The attire for the concert is "professional" and "nice."
The Brass Choir performer call time for the concert is 7:15pm in Strauss room 105. The concert begins at 7:30pm with the brass choir. The event ends with a large combined performance including guest artists, UNO students, and participants in the brass choir.
Special Guest Artists
Horns of the Heartland
Horns of the Heartland (HOTH Inc.) was formed in 2021 by musicians from the Omaha, Des Moines, South Dakota, and Quad Cities Symphonies, along with area freelancers. The original ensemble debuted with 11 horn players by performing and recording a transcription of Richard Strauss’ “An Alpine Symphony” at the Sumter Amphitheater. Since the formation of the original ensemble, HOTH has taken on the shape and size of various ensembles, including brass quintets, horn duets, trios, quartets and octets. In early 2023, HOTH became a non profit 510c(3) organization which aims to fill a void in brass chamber music, provide equal access to music education and foster equity in our communities. It is their mission to bring awareness to all chamber music works by providing free concert offerings, new commissions, partnerships with local organizations, participating in educational outreach and making music accessible to all.
Feature Trombone Quartet
Joining UNO's Brass Day is a special trombone quartet featuring Richard Harris (University of Denver Trombone Professor), Barry Hearn (Principal Trombone, Dallas Symphony Orchestra), Peter Madsen (UNO Trombone Professor, Jazz Area Coordinator), and Steve Wilson (University of Texas El Paso Trombone Professor).
Members of the trombone quartet will be leading masterlcasses, teaching lessons, and performing Eric Richards' Concerto for Trombone Quartet with UNO's Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of UNO Director of Bands, Dr. Joshua Kearney.
Martin Hackelman, Horn & Guest Conductor
Martin Hackleman joined the faculty of the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance as Artist in Residence and Associate Professor of Horn in the Fall of 2012.
Martin Hackleman began playing the horn at the age of sixteen, studying with Caesar LaMonaca in Houston. Other teachers have included Barry Tuckwell and Roland Berger (Vienna Philharmonic).
He studied at the University of Houston and at age nineteen he won the Principal Horn Chair in the Calgary Philharmonic where he played for two seasons. Mr. Hackleman then joined the Vancouver Symphony as Solo Horn under Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama in 1974 where he played for the next nine years.
In 1983 Mr. Hackleman left Vancouver to join the world-renowned Canadian Brass. His three years with the group saw many outstanding achievements, among them: seven recordings for CBS Masterworks, including Brass in Berlin (with the brass section of the Berlin Philharmonic); extensive tours of the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Far East; a Canadian JUNO award for "best classical record"; the group's Hollywood Bowl premiere; and the release of their first video.
Mr. Hackleman then accepted an invitation to join the Empire Brass Quintet, whose moderate concert schedule allowed him time to pursue a solo career as well as specialty interests such as the Vienna and Natural Horns. He was a member of the EBQ for four years and recorded 5 CD’s with them.
No stranger to the field of music education, Martin Hackleman has published étude books (now in their third printing) for the horn that are required repertoire at such institutions as the Royal Conservatory in London, England and the University of Michigan. He has numerous arrangements and more etude books to be released soon. He is a frequent juror for the Canada Council. He has been on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Boston University, and the University of British Columbia. He is on the faculty at Banff Centre in Alberta every summer in the Brass Program as well as a frequent guest in the Chamber Music Sessions. For four years he coached the Asian Youth Orchestra and participated in their annual world tours. Mr Hackleman is a member of Summit Brass where he plays, records, and teaches every summer. For many years he was a French horn design consultant with Yamaha. Over the years he has been invited to give master classes at Julliard, the Manhattan School, Curtis Institute, and UCLA, among others.
Learn more about Martin Hackleman here.
Gala Flagello, Guest Composer
Gala Flagello (b. 1994) is a composer, educator, and nonprofit director whose music has been described as “both flesh and spirit, intensely psychological without sacrificing concrete musical enjoyment” (I Care If You Listen). She is the Festival Director and co-founder of the nonprofit contemporary music festival Connecticut Summerfest.
Gala was selected as a 2023 Composition Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center, a 2022–2023 Composer Fellow at the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, and a 2022 Composition Fellow at Aspen Music Festival. She was awarded the Musicians Club of Women Gerts and Hammond Award (First Prize, 2022 Composition Competition) and was commissioned by Hub New Music to write The Bird-While, a concerto for Hub New Music and symphonic winds that was premiered in March 2023 by Michael Haithcock and the University of Michigan Symphony Band. Other recent commissions include works for "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, the Albany Symphony, the Virginia Tech Wind Ensemble, the Peabody Essex Museum, the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, and the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus. Recent accolades include the 2021 Composer Residency at Promenade Opera Project, first prize in the 2020 Sinta Quartet Composition Competition, and the 2020 Michigan Music Teachers Association Commissioned Composer Prize.
Gala holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition degree from The Hartt School, a Master of Music in Composition degree from the University of Michigan, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the Dorothy Greenwald Graduate Fellowship. Gala’s works are self-published, with select works published by independent, eco-friendly publisher Just a Theory Press.
Learn more about Dr. Flagello here.
8:30-9:00 |
Registration (Strauss Performing Arts Center, SPAC, Lobby) |
9:00-9:30 |
Brass Warm-up Session with UNO Faculty & Guest Artists |
9:30-10:30 |
Participant Brass Choir rehearsal (Concert Hall) |
10:30-10:45 |
Break |
10:45-11:30 |
Faculty & Artist Showcase (CH) |
11:30-12:15 |
Masterclasses with Martin Hackleman, Horns of the Heartland, and Rich Harris High brass - 160 |
12:15-1:15 |
Lunch. Students may bring lunch or eat in the Milo Bail Student Center (MBSC) food court. Students are expected to remain on campus in either SPAC/MBSC during lunch. |
1:15-2:00 |
Participant Brass Choir Rehearsal (CH) UNO High Brass Ensemble Coaching – room 160 |
2:00-2:15 |
Break |
2:15-2:45 |
Open Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE) Rehearsal |
2:45-3:00 |
Break |
3:00-3:50 |
Brass Choir Rehearsal (CH) |
4:00-4:45 |
Panel Discussion with Gala Flagello & Barry Hearn—“Careers in Music”, Q&A (Recital Hall) |
4:45-5:00 |
Break |
5:00-6:00 |
Brass Choir Final Rehearsal (CH). After rehearsal, you may store belongings in room 105. |
6:00 |
Dinner (on own) - change into concert attire. |
7:15 |
Call time for Participant Brass Choir (105) in concert attire. |
7:30 |
Gala Concert featuring Participant Brass Choir, HOTH, Trombone Quartet, & UNO Symphonic Wind Ensemble |
*Schedule subject to minor revisions. All changes will be posted on this page.
Registration (on/after Oct. 26): $55
Brass at UNO
In the brass area, students have the opportunity to study with experienced teachers that maintain careers as active professional musicians.
UNO brass teachers have varied backgrounds including extensive experience in symphony orchestras, jazz, chamber music, and professional wind bands. In addition to private lessons, students participate in a weekly brass masterclass presented by UNO faculty or guest artists.
Click here to learn more about the UNO Brass Area.