College of Communication,

Fine Arts and Media

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Siauliai University Conductor Gediminas Ramanauskas conducts the SWE and the Choirs from Siauliai University and Vilnius University at the International Music Festival.

SWE on Tour

By Dr. James Saker

For UNO sophomore clarinetist Andrew Norris, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble's trip to the Baltics and Norway this May was something of a religious experience.

Literally.

"The 'Hill of Crosses,'" says Norris, from Millard North, "is an amazing collection of crosses and crucifixes left there by Lithuanians and people from all over the world. It is a symbol of their belief in God to keep them going through the oppression by the Soviets. Being at this site was one of the most powerful religious experiences I have ever had."

Norris' experience was just one of many during a 10-concert tour to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Norway by the university's premier concert band, conducted by Dr. James Saker.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE) began its tour in Lithuania and ended in Norway, exposing students to other music and cultures.

"This tour opened my eyes to how highly the European culture values the world of classical music, and the efforts by which the members of these cultures participate to promote it," says Sara Renner, a second year-oboe player from Texas. "Overall, I could not have asked for a better way to spend my first time in Europe. I strengthened friendships, started new ones, and have some great stories and memories."

Though most of the tour's cost was paid by participants, expenses were minimized through the support and assistance of sister universities and professional colleagues in each country. That included lodging and many of the meals. Fundraisers had been organized by SWE officers to assist individuals with their tour expense, including a silent auction coordinated by parents. Friends of SWE, faculty, and band alums also contributed to the tour fund.

As part of their tour class, students were required to complete written reports.

"I did not meet a single person in Lithuania who did not amaze me with their hospitality toward us," wrote Jasmine Wimmer, a first-year trumpet player from Gretna. "If I had the chance to visit the country again, I would."

Following are some of the SWE tour highlights.

Lithuania

After a day of sightseeing in and around Vilnius led by UNO alum Kestutis Vedekis and his wife, Liena, SWE met with the choirs from Vilnius University and Siauliai University for a rehearsal prior to the first concert.

The rehearsal and concert were presented in St. John's Church in Vilnius. An excellent audience attended the performance and greeted each selection with enthusiastic applause. Professor of Flute Dr. Christine Beard's piccolo solo, "Kinloch O'Kinloch," was especially well received.

The audience also responded energetically to two pieces with the combined choirs: Copland's "The Promise of Living" conducted by SWE Associate SWE Conductor Dr. Erica Neidlinger; and, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" conducted by Siauliai University Choir Director Gediminas Ramanauskas.

In addition to Lithuanians the audience included a number of Americans, English tourists and guests from several other Baltic States. Also attending were representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius and the American Society of Lithuania, joint sponsors of this concert.

SWE left Vilnius the following morning, stopping first at the beautiful castle Trakai. The group also visited one of Lithuania's most important historical sites in Kernave. Then it was off to Omaha's sister city, Siauliai, also home to UNO's sister university. Students from the Studium Choir welcomed the UNO contingent, some of the instrumentalists from the university playing ethnic instruments.

SWE presented its second major performance in Lithuania as a part of the opening night concert for Siauliai University's "International Music Festival," presented to a capacity audience. Choirs from Vilnius and Siauliai Universities joined the performance.

"We had the opportunity to get to know some students from our sister university and learn more about their culture," says Melissa Chohon, a first-year saxophonist from Grand Island.

Siauliai University's Zenonas Ripinskis, who made most of the arrangements for the Lithuania tour, later led the group on an excursion to a national park on the Baltic Sea. A guide's detailed tour included several interesting hikes and a thorough view of the park. After lunch in the seaside village of Nida, it was off to the resort city of Palanga.

SWE's last day in Lithuania included a short performance as part of the grand finale event for the Internation-al Music Festival featuring performances by groups from Estonia, Latvia, the Ukraine and Lithuania. SWE presented several of the "lighter" numbers in its repertoire, including Dr. Beard's exciting piccolo piece, which earned a tremendous ovation.

Latvia

On the way to its next stop, Riga, Latvia, SWE visited the Italian-style Rundales Palace and gardens in the Latvian countryside. The U.S. Embassy in Latvia arranged the first event, a concert in Riga for students and faculty of the Parmala Jurga Music School and musicians from the Wind Orchestra Riga (WOR). The performance also was attended by Ambassador Bailey's cultural attaché, Raymond Stevens, who welcomed SWE and greeted the audience on behalf of the ambassador.

The second day of the Latvian visit began with a free morning, which included joint lessons and performances by Dr. Beard and the UNO flute students with Inga Grinvalde, a Latvian music educator, and her flute students. Other SWE members visited the Latvian Music Academy and sat in on rehearsals and lessons. The morning concluded with a walking tour of Riga led by WOR conductor Janis Purins, who assisted with the other concert arrangements in Latvia.

That afternoon SWE performed on the program of the first concert to be presented at the new Cultural House in the city of Jurmala, one of the most popular resorts in the Baltics. The program opened with a short concert by the Jurmala City Band followed by SWE's concert. Several members of the Jurmala city government attended, including the vice-mayor, who presented the group with a framed, historic print of the resort. Following the concert, Jurmala city officials accompanied the group for a picnic dinner provided at an outdoor restaurant on the beach of the Baltic Sea.

The final concert in Latvia was presented in the city of Smiltene and hosted by the community wind band. Following a traditional Latvian dinner provided by the city, the concert was presented in a beautiful old concert hall in the Smiltene Culture House. Maestro Purins was a guest conductor for all of the Latvian performances.

Estonia

A concert in Estonia arranged jointly by the U.S. Embassy and the Tallinn Cultural Department was presented as part of the spring festival, a "Day of Tallinn." Lennart Sundja of the Cultural Department and Maris Laja from the embassy attended the performance and greeted SWE.

Norway

The group arrived in Norway just in time for the biggest holiday of the year—Norwegian Independence Day—with a parade featuring more than 100 marching bands. Concerts and special events also were presented around Oslo.

Day 2 in Norway included a performance in Skien arranged by the U.S. Embassy and hosted by the community band Suoni. After the concert the group enjoyed a traditional Norwegian Dinner provided by the city. Then it was off to Kristiansand for a visit hosted by a UNO sister institution, Agder University College (AUC). In addition to the performances, AUC International Affairs Director Mette Hogbrat Pederson arranged for guided tours of the campus and the city and a boat cruise around the fjords, led by students from AUC.

"Overall, Siauliai, Lithuania was my favorite city we visited in our entire 17-day tour," commented Chris Bucher, a junior baritone saxophonist from Bellevue West. "I enjoyed our location, the people, and our planned and unplanned activities. This city took my breath away with everything there was to offer."

Photo: Dr. James Saker  and SWE officers present a gift  to UNO alum Kestutis Vedekis and his  wife, Liena.

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Sept. 8-Oct. 13

Peter Szto: Floating Population - Guangzhou, China: a visual study

Sept. 8

L.L'Heureux: Etichette, K.C. Kauffman: Making the Invisible Visible, Opening Reception

Oct. 20-Nov. 3

Day of the Dead Installation - Hexagon Gallery

Oct. 22-Nov. 19

Calculated Associations: Andrea Stanislav, Opening Reception Oct. 20

Dec. 3-15

Fall BFA Thesis Exhibition, Opening Reception, Dec. 1

Sept. 13

Dr. Peter Szto, associate director and undergraduate coordinator for the School of Social Work. His current research involves documentary photography to study social welfare problems in China. 7 p.m.

Sept. 30

Brett Reif, assistant professor in the School of the Foundation Year at the Kansas City Art Institute. Reif works in non-traditional media (automobile grease, post-it notes, test-tubes, plastic wrap, etc) and has exhibited work at Spaces Gallery in Cleveland, the Ackland Museum in North Carolina, and elsewhere. 7 p.m.

Oct. 10

Rory Golden, formerly executive director at the Center for Book Arts in New York City and currently a 2006 Abbey Mural Workshop Fellow at the National Academy of Art. Recent solo exhibitions include the New York Public Library, Donnell Library Center (New York) Bay Park Press (Calif.), and elsewhere. 12 p.m.

Oct. 14

Ronnie Cramer, artist/ musician/filmmaker who has been active in the arts community for 25-plus years. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries and other venues across the country, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the Nashville Film Festival, New York International Independent Film Festival (Tribec) and elsewhere. 7 p.m.

Sept. 9

Ecoutez!: Chiara String Quartet, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 15

Resonate : Meg Fangman, piano

Sept. 16

Mexican Independence Day Chamber Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 1

Resonate: Wayne Kallstrom, organ, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 8

Ecoutez!: Heinavanker, Estonian Folk Group, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 12

Rocky II Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 17

Concert Choir & University Chorus Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 19

Jazz Bands Concert at the UNO Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom,

7:30 p.m.

Oct. 22

Symphonic Wind Ensemble & Concert Choir Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 31

Hauntcert Heartland Philharmonic & Chamber Orchestras Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Nov 2.

Brass Ensembles Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 12

Resonate: Baumgartner Piano Duo, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 15

Jazz Bands Concert at the UNO Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 28

Vocal Jazz Choir & Jazz Combos Concert at the UNO Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 29

Percussion Ensembles Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 3

Little Bit Classical, A Little Bit Romantic Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 5

University Chorus Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8

Prevailing Winds VI Symphonic Wind Ensemble, University Concert Band, Jazz I & Jazz II Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 9

Choral Concert with the Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 5-7, 11-14

Man of La Mancha

November, TBA,

The Ostrich Project (Children's theatre production, touring Omaha area schools)

Nov. 16-18, 29-30; Dec. 1-2

Hamlet

Sept. 13                     

Nancy Van Winckel, celebrated author of four collections of poetry with a fifth collection due out in early 2007. Location: UNO Theatre

Oct. 4

Erin  Belieu, Nebraska native and UNO alumna, author of three poetry collections. Location: UNO Art Gallery

Oct. 11

Tony Eprile, South African writer and author of Temporary Sojourner and other South African Stories and The Persistence of Memory. Location: UNO Art Gallery.

Nov. 1

Megan Gannon and Miles Waggener, poets. Gannon's work has appeared in Third Coast, Ploughshares, Pleiades, Gulf Coast and elsewhere. Waggener, a new Writer's Workshop faculty member, is author of Phoenix Suites with poems appearing in publications such as Beloit Poetry Journal and the Antioch Review. Location: Milo Bail Student Center, Dodge Room

Dec. 15

Anna Monardo, associate professor and chair of the Writer's Workshop department. Also author of novels "Falling in Love with Natassia" and "The Courtyard of Dreams" with stories, essays and poems appearing in Indiana Review, Redbook, etc. Location: Student Center, Dodge Room. Will include viewing of film "The Yellow Bird" based on a short story by Margie Lukas.