Eleven music students were afforded the opportunity to play for and receive instruction from members of the Imani Winds quintet, who were brought to Nebraska to perform on the Vesper Concerts in Omaha on February 10, 2020. The two-hour masterclass featured three of UNO’s scholarship chamber ensembles: FourOmaha, an undergraduate woodwind quartet (Dakota Valle, flute; Christine Robino, oboe; Myra Coveney, clarinet; and Hunter Holoubek, bassoon) who performed music by David Uber and Peter Schickele; a mixed grad/undergrad string quartet (Jordan Willis and Shae Monaghan, violins; Michael Tyree, viola; and Trevor Petersen, cello) who performed music by Mozart; and a mixed grad/undergrad piano trio (Natalie Maudhoo, violin; Trevor Petersen, cello; and Yimeng Xu, piano) who performed music by Mendelssohn.

The Imani Winds quartet – celebrating their 20th season – has received many accolades, including a Grammy Award nomination for their CD, The Classical Underground. They have performed in many prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Hall and the Kimmel Center; and their recordings are played regularly on media platforms such as NPR, American Public Media, the BBC, SiriusXM, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. More info about the ensemble is available at http://www.imaniwinds.com