14-year-old Omaha Composer Will Have Omaha Symphony Masterworks Debut and a World Premiere

14 year old composer Winston Schneider will have his Omaha Symphony Masterworks Debut and a World Premiere for "Anniversary Orchestra" on September 23 and 24th. This commissioned new work celebrates 50 years of programming for Omaha's classical music station, KVNO. It will be performed at the "Elgar and Bolero" concert, and conducted by Maestro Ankush Kumar Bahl.

Schneider, now 14, began composing at age 5, and has won over 30 awards for his compositions, including national and international awards. His work is described as "inventive and original... impressive and masterfully done.... the array of orchestral gestures is, frankly, stunning" (Albert Mendoza, composer, editor and author, Alfred Music).

"I took the letters K-V-N-O and translated them into musical notes using a chart I found. I ended up with the notes D-A-G-A. However, I wanted more variety and a sense of arrival upon the final 'A' (because I'd planned to start the motive on beat two of the previous measure), so I moved the first 'A' down an octave. This is the main theme of the piece," Schneider said.

Schneider was nominated for Best Youth Actor in a Musical for the Broadway World Regional Awards for his role of Les in Newsies in 2018, at the Rose Theater in Omaha. Schneider also played the role of Slightly Soiled in the Rose Theater's production of Peter Pan in 2017, and Sammy in the Rose's Prancer in 2016.

He's the current and three-time MTNA state piano performance winner. He studies at the Omaha Conservatory of Music, and grew up participating in plays, musicals and classes at the Rose Theater.

Schneider's won first place nationally at all three major pre-college student composition competitions: MTNA (2022), NFMC (2022), and NAfME (2018), and at age 10 was selected internationally as a MATA Jr. composer. Perhaps most notably, in 2021, Schneider received a prestigious American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Morton Gould Young Composer Award, a competition for composers up to 30 years of age, with 400 - 500 applicants each year. He was the youngest student ever to be included in the Curtis Institute of Music's esteemed Summerfest composition program at age 12. He's also been a member of the New York Youth Symphony Composing and Conducting Program. In July, he was invited to be on NPR's From the Top.

"Anniversary Overture" is a celebratory piece, and I hope that it reflects the celebration of 50 years of beautiful music. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I can't wait to hear it performed," Schneider said.

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