Dr. Neal Schnoor
UNK director of Bands, 308.865.88631
Paul Niedbalski of Kearney, winner of the 2009 University of Nebraska at Kearney Concerto Aria Contest, will be featured trombone soloist in the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble Concert on Sunday, April 26.
Niedbalski will perform the trombone concerto “Colors” by Bert Appermont. A graduate of Kearney Catholic High School, he is a senior music education and trombone performance major. He is the son of Steve and Kathy Niedbalski of Kearney.
He has played first trombone in the Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band in 2006, 2008 and 2009, and was a two-time finalist for the John Shildneck Young Artist Award in 2007 and 2009. He plays principle trombone in the UNK Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz-Rock Ensemble and the Kearney Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the UNK Brass Quintet, Low Brass Quintet and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln Trombone Ensemble.
A member of MENC, the national association of music education, and Kappa Kappa Psi marching band honor society, Niedbalski has studied with trombonists Joseph Alessi and Ron Barron; tubists Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilafian; Robert Mitchell at UNK and Scott Anderson at UNL. He currently studies with Dr. Mike Forbes, UNK low brass instructor.
In the Concerto Aria Contest, student musicians, generally juniors and seniors, audition for a panel of UNK music faculty. The winning musician then performs with one of the UNK music ensembles.
“These are our best students,” said Dr. Neal Schnoor, UNK director of Bands. “They perform challenging compositions that are also challenging for our accompanying ensemble.”
The concert, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the UNK Fine Arts Recital Hall, is free and open to the public.
The Wind Ensemble will open the concert with “An Epic Fanfare” by Julie Giroux. They will also perform “Sheperd’s Hey” by Percy Aldridge Grainger with Dr. James Cook, UNK professor of music, accompanying on the piano. They will end with the short symphony “Give Us This Day” by David Maslanka, with piano accompaniment by Ann Bauer of Kearney.
Dr. Schnoor described the Maslanka piece, saying that “the composition is deeply spiritual and features a level of compositional craft that is comparable to the finest works for any medium.”
The Symphonic Band, under the direction of Dr. Gary Davis, will perform the second half of the concert. Musical selections on the program include: “March: The Lion’s Gate” by Ralph Ford, “Canterbury Chorale” by Jan Van der Roost, “Eire” by Melanie Donahue, Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Jesters” and “Fandango” by Frank Perkins, arrangement by Werle.
The members of the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble are listed below, alphabetically by hometown, state and country:
Amherst- Chris Gugel
Ashland- Kimberly Morwitzer
Archer- Jody Neel
Aurora- Ashley Lawton
Bassett- Cameron Scheibe
Beatrice- Troy Ehmke and Zach Klar
Blair- Helen Breuer
Boelus- Emily McIntosh
Comstock- Robert Roth
Franklin- Sarah Cole
Gering- David Kelly
Grand Island- Mackenzie Cochran and Katelyn Rempe
Kearney- Tyler Allen, Eryn McBride, Paul Niedbalski and Paloma Mena-Werth
Kimball- Lisa Childs
Lexington- Arturo Banderas
McCook- Tyler Cobb
North Platte- Michael Conley and Carey Teeters
Omaha- Kelci Fulton, Andrew Jacobitz, Cayle Jones, Matthew Morse, Lauren Ostberg and Katie Trygg
Phillips- David Ziola
Pickrell- Laura Goracke
Ravenna- Brandon Bohn and Scott Bohn
Scottsbluff- Brooke Brown
Wallace – Brooke Harris
York- Caryn Vincent
MICHIGAN-
Southfield- Anthony Ford
JAPAN
Saltama– Megumi Kajigaya
