Robert Owens Centenary Festival

The Glenn Korff School of Music will host the Robert Owens Centenary Festival to celebrate the life and legacy of this influential African American composer Wednesday, September 17 – Friday, September 19, 2025. The three-day event, held at the newly opened Westbrook Music Building, will feature concerts of Owens’ music, lectures on his selected poets, discussions on historical events, and a tour of the Robert Owens Archive. All events will be free and live streamed by the Glenn Korff School of Music.

The Robert Owens Centenary Festival will highlight Owens’ instrumental works, alongside his well-known vocal compositions. Many of Owens’ instrumental pieces remain unpublished and will be introduced to American scholars and performers for the first time. Unpublished vocal works discovered in the Owens Archive will be performed in a featured recital. UNL Opera will present a concert version of Owens' only published opera, Culture! Culture!. This festival will bring together diverse perspectives on Owens' life and music, offering a unique opportunity to learn from artists and scholars who collaborated with him.

Robert Owens Centenary Festival events will take place at the Glenn Korff School of Music Westbrook Music Building and Kimball Recital Hall on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus (approximately 10th & Q Streets). 

Robert Owens Centenary Festival Schedule

Click here to see the festival schedule at a glance
 

Pre-conference master class

Baritone Kenneth Overton
In a master class
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
4:00-6:30 pm
Westbrook Music Building
This event is presented in partnership with Opera Omaha.

Baritone Kenneth Overton is lauded for blending his opulent baritone with magnetic, varied portrayals that seemingly “emanate from deep within body and soul.” Kenneth Overton’s symphonious baritone voice has sent him around the globe, making him one of the most sought-after opera and concert singers of his generation. In 2020, Kenneth became a GRAMMY AWARD WINNER for Best Choral Performance in the title role of Richard Danielpour’s “The Passion of Yeshua” with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. On the operatic stage, Overton has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, Welsh National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Royal Danish Opera, L’Opera Montreal, Palacios Bellas Artes, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Nashville Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera Carolina, and Opera Tampa. Symphonic and concert performances include The National Philharmonic, The Washington Chorus, The Oregon Bach Festival, and The National Chorale, with multiple appearances at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. For more information www.kennethoverton.com

Registration form

go.unl.edu/owensfestivalregistration

SUGGESTED CONFERENCE LODGING

Please be advised that the University Nebraska Cornhuskers football team is scheduled to play the University of Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, September 20, and may affect travel in and out of Lincoln that day. It is recommended that if conference attendees plan to fly home on Saturday, evening lodging for Friday is booked in Omaha (50 miles north).