by Erik Higgins, Artistic Director (ehiggins@NebraskaMusicFest.org)
Thank you for a great 2025!
Dear friends,
Summer seems a long way away now that the leaves have turned, the school year is in full swing and winter is upon us. But only a few months ago, we were all basking in the glow of some really transformational music.
I want to send out a huge thank you for a fantastic festival in 2025. This was the sixth time we all got together during the summer to celebrate culturally-steeped music. In those years, the festival has really taken root and started to flourish. Every year, it is a bit different and we try out new things. Every year we learn, grow and change so that it reflects who we want to be. This year was no different, so let me take you on a walk through what we did, what we learned and where we’re going.
What we did
This year’s festival was inspired by friendship. A dear friend of the festival, Kinan Azmeh was our first ever guest curator. Kinan’s theme was also friendship: the artists he invited shared decades of friendship and musical comradarie. I met Kinan in 2017 when I had the unbelievable opportunity to perform an improvised duo with him on a sold-out stage in Boston (it’s even on YouTube). It was a moment that truly opened my eyes to a whole new world of music, the same world that we try to bring to you every year at Crossroads. Kinan has been a large part of my own inspiration and a staple Crossroads musician since the beginning. This year, it was time to bring a fresh perspective to the program and Kinan was the obvious choice.
In addition to our guest curator, the festival was also supported this year by an unprecedented 10 different co-presenting partners, which connected us closer than ever to Nebraska’s institutions and audiences, bringing us into some of the most interesting spaces in Nebraska. Are hearts go out to Asian Community and Cultural Center, LIED Center, KANEKO, BLUEBARN Theatre, The RIverFront, UNL Glenn Korff School of Music, UNO, Music Box, Sheldon Museum of Art, The Joslyn, and Gallery 1516!
On to the highlights:
Lincoln and Omaha Showcases
Despite a heat warning, the showcases were an incredible night out for those who braved the muggy summer weather. They featured the reunited Dawn of Midi, Layale Chaker and Sarafand, and guest curator Kinan Azmeh with a festival ensemble performing his Suite for Improvisor and Orchestra and poetry readings by State Poets Jewel Rodgers and Matt Mason.
Anyone who saw it will never forget Jewel moving to the sounds of Dawn of Midi, cooling off with a fan folded from the paper with her poems on it.
Orchestral Finales
2025 was the first time we put together a full orchestra, but it certainly won’t be the last. Breaking in the new Kimball Hall in Lincoln with a stellar program and a grand finale at UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center was a fitting end the festival. The synergy between the musicians onstage, everyone from current and former members of Lincoln and Omaha Symphonies to touring artists to composers, everyone shared in the music making of the festival finale. You can even grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the entire Omaha Orchestra Finale right here:
Kids Programming in the Museums
We were really proud to have such esteemed partners this year for our family programming. The Joslyn and the Sheldon Museum of Art were helped us to expand the reach of our programming and provide a way for kids of all ages to both experience the art in museums with the music that brought it to life.
Whether this was performing Slavic folk songs in front of the Joslyn’s painting of the Russian Beauty by Konstantin Makovsky or performing a traditional Andean song on Bolivia’s traditional charango in front of the Sheldon’s beautiful south American beaded tapestry, the art really came to life in the hearts and minds of hundreds of kids across Lincoln and Omaha.
Erdem Helvacioglu – “Cinema for the Ears”
Erdem Helvacioglu’s soundscapes at the Music Box (MBX) and KANEKO was also unlike anything we’ve done before; the fact that it was hard define makes it so fittingly Crossroads. Eight speaker surrounded listeners with an immersive landscape of drones, beats, singing choirs, lush strings and electronic pings and clicks. Erdem was joined by four of the festival’s artists, Kinan Azmeh, Olga Smola, Erik Higgins and Marie Sønderskov who improvised along with the electronic track, their voices weaving in and out of the massive blanket of sound Erdem had created.
The space in both venues was almost completely dark, just the vague outlines of the enormous metal sculptures from Bruce Beasely in Kaneko and the calm profiles of listeners with their eyes closed at MBX – a true feast for the ears. One audience member in Lincoln was in tears after the performance: “this was the most beautiful thing I’ve hear this year”.
Getting into the Composer’s Mind with Dinuk Wijeratne
The first of its kind, we held a lecture demonstration with one of our featured artists, composer and pianist Dinuk Wijeratne.
It was fascinating to hear Dinuk pull back the curtain to the inner workings of his process. “I think my biggest role model is Mozart; not because my music sounds like his, but because of his philosophy: there are never too many notes, never too few. There is nothing extra there, but it’s never missing anything. And I absolutely love his mischief and playfulness, which I’d like to think I share at least a little bit of.”
With charm and humor, he walked the audience through several of his favorite works, touching on the inspiration and process of writing. He spoke about his piano concerto Gajaga Vannama as a way to explore his Sri Lanken musical roots, which he only came to know later in life. Any one who heard Gajaga Vannama on the weekend could see all the joy and micheviousness of Dinuk’s personality shining through.
Cello Spectrum at BLUEBARN
In another first-time collaboration, we spent an evening at the beautiful BLUEBARN theatre in Omaha to enjoy the performances of guest cellist Jake Charkey and local star cellist David Downing.
With a clear summer night, we enjoyed the entrancing loops and layers of David’s solo act, followed by the evocative Hindustani-inspired music that Jake is known for. As you listened to the cicadas in the drinks line between acts and could feel the warmth of the campfires keeping the mosquitos away, it was clear that this beautiful evening brimming with the true Crossroads spirit. And hats off to BLUEBARN in which we really have found a true partner and kindred spirit.
What we learned
Stories are important
Ten years ago, I myself wouldn’t have been familiar with 10% of the genres and styles of music that the festival puts on each year. How would anyone know how Hindustani raga works, what Maqam are or how a Sri Lanken composer finds his roots? We’ve learned that getting to know the artists, where their music comes from and what it means in context is important, and sharing all of that insight with you is something we aim to get better at, in the form of composer talks, and even a glossary of all the weird and unique instruments, styles, languages, etc. that find their way into our programming.
Focus on what we do best
We’re a small organization and every year is a huge lift for us and our entire team. We’re finally learning that we, too, are humans with a limited capacity and bandwidth. Our ambition has never wavered, but we’ve learned that we need to focus more on what we do best – which, if I could sum it up in one sentence, would be bringing talented, but very different people together to create chemistry, connection and enthralling new art – and letting some of the other things go that are better done by the many other fantastic organizations we share the space with… or even better, collaborating with those same organizations to enrich what is already there.
Where we’re going
The next several years
are going to be very exciting ones for Crossroads. Realizing the value in the projects we have started, La Folia Global, the Dream Warriors Project, Jewel Rodgers spoken word project, we’re going to do even more to help foster those projects so that they can have a life outside of the festival and bring Nebraska-created art to the whole world.
The 2026 Festival
is already on the books and we’ll be announcing the program soon – even before the end of the year. The dates will be July 24-Aug. 2 with concerts in both Lincoln and Omaha. The program will include many exciting performances, but I can already let slip now that you’ll get to hear all three Crossroads homegrown projects mentioned above.
The Dream Warriors Exhibition
as part of our multi-year collaborative project with the Dream Warriors, we’re working hard to open an art exhibition based on the music that the Dream Warriors created at their festival residency in 2024, and built on the visual artwork of Sarah Rowe and digital expression of that artwork from Jinku Kim. Read about it in the new page of our website: NebraskaMusicFest.org/Dream-Warriors-Project.
Thank you
Thank you all for being part of our 6th season.
It takes a village to raise a festival – thank you to everyone who donated, helped, attended, and performed. It wouldn’t be what it is without you.
Tell us in the comments about your favorite moments!
Sincerely,
Erik and the Crossroads team
