The halls of the Westbrook Music Building are once again busy and our faculty, staff, students and alumni are all doing amazing things! Read about them here:

Mackenzie Conroy, Jacob Welling and Macy Miller

Jacob Welling, Mackenzie Conroy, Macy Miller


Clarinetist  Jacob Welling, Sophomore BME, was declared the winner of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition-Woodwinds, State Level, this morning in Kearney. He will move on to the Division Level in January.
Along with Jacob Welling, clarinetists Mackenzie Conroy (junior BM) and Macy Miller (sophomore BME) won the State Level of the MTNA Chamber Music Competition with their clarinet trio, “Grenadilla Grove”. They will also advance to the Division Level in January.
Sean Lebita

Sean Lebita


Sean Lebita, a freshman piano major from Lincoln North Star and a student of Paul Barnes, just won the Nebraska state level of the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artists Piano Competition.  He will compete against 7 other state winners for the West Central Division competition. 

"The competition nerves were really stressful, but I was mostly focused on making sure my repertoire was solid and solely focused on that," Lebita said. "My program was very physically intense, so eliminating the nerves was very important to not lock up unexpectedly. It felt exciting to win because I wanted to make sure that my set showed off everything I could do, which made it feel even more rewarding. Mostly my excitement comes from working on new repertoire, and recording the set soon for regionals."

John Bailey

John Bailey


On Saturday, September 8, 2018, Coro di Flauti, Lincoln’s community flute choir, will host flutists and flute choirs from several Nebraska schools and communities in an event called “FLUTE SALAD.” Events will start at 12:30 pm for participating flutists who register and include a few hours of rehearsal on three different pieces, followed by a 5:00 pm free will offering concert and reception, open to the public at First United Methodist Church, 2723 N. 50th Street, Lincoln, NE. Doors open for the concert at 4:30 pm.

Guest coaches and conductors Dr. Christine Beard, Professor of Flute from the University of Nebraska Omaha, and Dr. John Bailey, Professor of Flute from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music, will work with participating flutists through the afternoon, practicing three pieces for the 5:00 pm concert that were chosen by Coro di Flauti, Wayne State College Flute Choir and UNK Flute Choir. After one run-through of the concert that afternoon, all flutists and flute choirs will perform together on the concert.

For more information, visit: https://www.bartlettstudio.org/flute-salad.html

Paul Barnes


Hyeyung Yoon and Paul Barnes's performance of Philip Glass’s Pendulum from the Celebration of Philip Glass in April at the Lied Center will be broadcast this Friday (August 3) on Performance Today in the first hour.  

https://www.yourclassical.org/programs/performance-today

Sebastian Sorensen

Sebastian Sorensen


Sebastian Sorensen, BM '17, vocal performance major won an international award in vocal performance this spring.

GREAT COMPOSERS COMPETITION is a series of international music competitions for young performers. GCC organizes and manages online competitions for instrumentalists (piano, strings, winds and percussion), singers (opera, sacred music, art song and musical theatre), and chamber groups. 

Sebastian Sorensen won first prize (highest award) for his musical theatre performance in the Great Composers " The Music of America" Competition for international young performers aged 20-22.

Sebastian Sorensen entered his performance playing the role of Vincent van Gogh in a solo performance of  "The highest yellow" from Michael John LaChiusa's musical THE HIGHEST YELLOW, which is based on the life of Vincent van Gogh. Sebastian's winning performance was accompanied at the piano by UNL DMA alum, Denis Plutalov.

The award was won on March 8, 2018.
UNL Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble

UNL Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble


Congratulations to the UNL Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble for a great "Prelude" concert before the Omaha Symphony "Jurassic Park" movie with live orchestra at the Holland Center. Thanks to Ian Passmore, Omaha Symphony Assistant Conductor, for guest conducting!

Liam Hughes

Liam Hughes


Congratulations to Liam Hughes, who has won the 2018 John Shildneck Solo Competition. Hughes has won a cash prize and will perform this summer with the Lincoln Municipal Band on Sunday, July 1 at 7 pm at the Shildneck Bandshell in Antelope Park.

Hughes is the first bass trombonist to ever win this competition. He is the eighth trombonist from the Glenn Korff School of Music Trombone studio to win the competition.

Service Awards



The University of Nebraska-Lincoln presents a Service Award to all regular employees who complete intervals of five calendar years of service, calculated on consolidated or continuous regular employment. Congrats to:

Peter Eklund - 20

Anthony Falcone - 20

Craig Fuller -- 40

David Hall -- 5

Jason Hibbard - 5

Rose Johnson - 40

David Neely - 25

Lynne Nevin - 25

Scott Quackenbush - 5

Brian Reetz - 5

Jamie Reimer - 10

Danni Gilbert

Danni Gilbert


Danni Gilbert has been hired by the Glenn Korff School of Music and will begin her appointment as associate professor of practice in music education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in August 2018. 

Future Plans -- Spring 2018 Edition


We asked our students to share their future plans, be it this Summer or long range. They will all be listed here in order of when the information is received (adding from the top). Here are their thoughts:

Derrick Gossard

I have recently accepted a 5-12 band and 7-12 choir position as the musical director for Sterling Public Schools.

Paige DeDecker

I will be attending the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida to pursue a Masters Degree in Percussion Performance.

Geli Gonzalez

I'll be working on the Bellevue East Marching Band staff as a low reeds technician. I will be working on things like marching technique and music, specifically with the low woodwind section of the band over the summer and into the fall semester.

Krista Connelly

At the end of June I will be a composer participant in a week-long composition masterclass in Helsinki and Porvoo, Finland.

JL Klinck

I will be graduating in May, and then working part time with the Nebraska Cultural Endowment for five to six weeks. Meanwhile, I'm applying to various non-profits, and planning on working in that sector while pursuing side projects as well.

Madeline Reddel

For this summer I am interning with Jazz in June, being a vocal clinician for the youth based blues education program “BluesEd" in Omaha, and a volunteer for an all female youth based rock camp "Omaha Girls Rock". 

Julie Grives

I will be presenting “Aerodynamic Effects of Training Aids in the Voice Studio” at the International Symposium of Singing and Song II in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada this summer. I will also be attending the CCM Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.

Jadyn Johnson

I will begin teaching at Hershey public schools! K-12 vocal music.

Jonah Payne

My future plans involve pursuing a Master's and Doctorate in percussion performance. I hope to eventually perform often, compose, and teach at a collegiate level.

Alex Crowley

Starting on June 10th-August 6th, I will be a junior high boys camp counselor at the Interlochen Fine Arts Camp. In addition to planning activities for campers, I’ll even be gaining lifeguard training. I wanted to do an activity like this, to gain experience in a leadership, mentoring role for junior high students. 

Xiaoyun Sim

This Summer I will be working for NSE as an orientation leader.

Barry Ford

I will be traveling to Belem, Brazil to participate in the Music Festival Week of the Federal University of Para in June where I will be giving lessons in conducting, composition and conducting the festival orchestra. I will be entering my second year as Director of Orchestras at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Lucy Collins

I will be attending the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy.

Abby Kurth

This summer I will be working as a young artist at the Ohio Light Opera, a professional operetta and traditional musical  theatre company in Wooster, Ohio. I will be performing in 6 out of their 7 shows this season. (Pajama Game, Babes in Arms, 50 Million Frenchmen, Candide, La Périchole, and Cloclo.)