RELEASE: Hundreds of Local High School Choristers Join Omaha Symphony at Holland Center
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Brooke Vogel
Communications Manager
Office: 402.661.8458
Hundreds of Local High School Choristers Join Omaha Symphony at
Holland Center
Maestro Ernest Richardson will conduct the Choral Collaborative performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana this November.
OMAHA, Neb., 10/28/2026 – The Omaha Symphony’s annual Choral Collaborative on November 8 at the Holland Center will showcase one of the largest musical ensembles you can imagine. Hundreds of choir students from six area high schools and four professional singers will perform alongside the Omaha Symphony to create an extremely immersive and unforgettable concert experience.
Created by Maestro Ernest Richardson and the Omaha Symphony, the Choral Collaborative education program provides participating are high schools with the chance to sing masterpieces of choral repertoire with a full, professional orchestra. Ernest Richardson, Resident Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor of the Omaha Symphony, collaborates with conductor and chorusmaster Dr. A. Barron Breland of Creighton University, who also leads the River City Mixed Chorus and Resonance. They work together with school music teachers to lead young singers through the masterworks they will perform with the Symphony. This project becomes a primary focus for choir students from the middle of August to the second week in November. As far as we know, there is no other experience like this in the country.
“The sound of more than 300 singing voices is extremely powerful. It is visceral, emotional. I still remember the first Choral Collaborative almost 30 years ago, meeting with Don Reimer at Bellevue West. I said, ‘You have a wonderful choir, I have an amazing orchestra — is there something we could do together?’ His ‘Yes!’ changed my life forever.” Maestro Richardson said.
“The first time I heard the first entrance of Carmina Burana in our new hall was stunning." Maestro Richardson stated. “Hundreds of powerful voices fill the hall with passion and emotion born of the optimism and promise of youth. It is a wall of sound, all created by a choir of high schoolers. The experience that is unmatched for the audience. They cannot find it anywhere else.”
This year, the Omaha Symphony’s ground-breaking Choral Collaborative returns with Carl Orff’s groundbreaking Carmina Burana. This piece is one of the most recognizable classical music pieces in popular culture, being featured in Excalibur (1981), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), Glee, and more.
You can find the concert webpage here:
https://www.omahasymphony.org/concerts/carmina-burana-choral-collaborative
This year's participating school choirs:
- Bellevue West High School
- Millard South High School
- Creighton Prep
- Millard North High School
- Bennington High School
- Fremont High School
Interview Opportunities:
Ernest Richardson, Omaha Symphony Resident Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor
Liz Kendall Weisser, Omaha Symphony Education and Community Engagement Director
Rehearsals are on November 6 and 7 at the Holland Center and will make great media opportunities.
November 6 rehearsal is 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
November 8 rehearsals are 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
To arrange coverage or interviews, please contact Brooke Vogel via email at bvogel@omahasymphony.org or by phone at (402) 661-8458.
Performance Details:
Sunday, November 8 at 2 p.m.
Holland Performing Arts Center
Ernest Richardson, Conductor
Dr. A. Barron Breland, Chorusmaster
Maria Valdes, Soprano
Eric Barry, Baritone
Markel Reed, Baritone
Program Order:
- ORFF: Carmina Burana
Ticketing Information
Tickets for Carmina Burana start at $26. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.omahasymphony.org or by calling Ticket Omaha at 402.345.0606. Student rush tickets are $10 and can be purchased 90 minutes before the performance. Performance dates are subject to change. In the event of performance changes or cancellations, the Omaha Symphony will email ticket holders to inform them of new dates and ticketing options. Patrons with questions may email ticketomaha@o-pa.org. The Omaha Symphony also regularly posts performance updates at omahasymphony.org, along with the Omaha Symphony’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Patrons can sign up for the latest updates at omahasymphony.org.
About the Omaha Symphony
The Omaha Symphony is a non-profit organization that annually serves over 400,000 people through more than 250 culturally enriching and entertaining mainstage concerts, music education programs, community engagement activities, and digital initiatives like Omaha Symphony Anywhere, a free online streaming platform featuring recordings of live performances, along with educational content, interviews, musician highlights, and more behind-the-scenes video content. In addition to Masterworks, Symphony Joslyn, Family, and LIVE with the Omaha Symphony concert series, the Omaha Symphony’s nationally recognized education and community engagement programs touch the lives of more than 140,000 people and over 300 schools each year. We are focused on creating a welcoming space and nurturing connections to ensure the Omaha community experiences and participates in music in a way that serves, reflects, uplifts, and entertains.
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