UNO's 54th Annual Great Plains Jazz Festival Sponsored by Omaha Performing Arts and Nebraska Diamond with the support of the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment will take place February 27-28, 2026
Founded in 1973, the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Great Plains Jazz Festival is one of the premier educational jazz festivals in the nation.
Click here to reserve your slot at the 2026 Great Plains Jazz Festival
The 2026 UNO/OPA Jazz Festival will take place at UNO on Friday, February 27th and at the Holland Center in downtown Omaha on Saturday, February 28th.
The Friday evening headliner performance will feature the Metropolitan Area Youth Jazz Orchestra (MAYJO) and the Great Plains Great Big Band featuring professional guest artists and adjudicators.
Saturday will feature a clinic presented by New York Voices and an evening performance by MAYJO and the UNO Jazz Ensemble featuring New York Voices and other special guest artists.
Contact petermadsen@unomaha.edu for more information.
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2026 Festival Guest Artists and Adjudicators
The Great Plains Jazz Festival features nationally renowned adjudicators, clinicians and guest artists. The festival is designed to be an educational experience for band directors and students from middle school through college. Ensembles perform for written and recorded comments and then proceed to a different room for a clinic from one of the adjudicators. In addition to the individualized clinic that each band receives, participants also have the opportunity to attend general clinic sessions presented by guest artists and adjudicators. The highlight of the festival is the opportunity to hear professional jazz concerts for free or greatly reduced prices.
Jazz artists that have recently appeared at the Great Plains Jazz Festival include Gordon Goodwin, Eric Marienthal, Brubeck Brothers, Bela Fleck, Doc Severinsen, Diane Schuur, the Jim Widner Big Band, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Jim Pugh, Marvin Stamm, Hubert Laws, and the Blue Note 7 featuring Ravi Coltrane and Nicholas Payton.
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Pictured Above: Wycliffe Gordon and the UNO Jazz Ensemble / Aubrey Logan