It would be dishonest to say that we at the Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival are anything but giddy that Hal France has joined our team as the festival’s new Production Director. Anyone who knows Hal will agree that there’s not really a great English word to describe what has just happened with this hire, so we’ll borrow from French: this is a real coup.
Hal began his work with the festival last week and is off to a flying start with a flurry of emails and meetings working to build stronger relationships with our venues and partners in both Lincoln and Omaha. In addition to serving as the director of all elements of production, he will also serve in a curatorial role for the festival’s showcase performances, together with Artistic Director Erik Higgins and 2025 Guest Curator Kinan Azmeh.
“I have admired and observed the growth of the Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival since its first season in Lincoln” Hal noted, reflecting on his new role at the Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival. “It’s an honor to join the team in sharing their unique mission, accomplished artists, and wide ranging offerings with Nebraska audiences.”
Learn more about Hal’s back story in the interview below:
Hal France is a well known figure in the cultural scene in Nebraska and is an extraordinary musician and accomplished arts administrator, much like the rest of the festival team. As a symphonic and opera conductor, he has toured the world, conducting everywhere from New York, to Stockholm and Costa Rica. He was the first Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 to 2006, Artistic Director of the Omaha Opera from 1995 to 2005, and Music Director of the Mobile Opera from 1984 to 1990.
As an arts administrator he has served as the Executive Director of KANEKO from 2008 to 2012. Most recently, he helped establish an undergraduate degree program in musical theatre at UNO and started UNO Theatre successful Summer Musical Theatre Academy for talented high school students.
Artistic Director Erik Higgins noted that “Hal France was one of the first people with whom I met to help launch the festival in 2019. He has performed as a musician and been an informal advisor from the beginning and it feels like such a natural fit to have him in a position to help shape the festival’s future. Having someone of Hal’s experience and standing was almost too much to wish for. We feel extraordinarily fortunate.”
Executive Director Olga Smola added that “this is not the first time Hal and I have worked together directing a project. Our first major collaboration was at BlueBarn Theater, where we worked together on the play Indecent which was honored with an OEAA Award for “Best Music Direction”.
“I feel that the festival has now been given the greatest compliment by having Hal join the team — an incredible human being with the highest professional, moral, and artistic standards. It is a true honor for our organization that a leader of his caliber has chosen to invest his time and energy in Crossroads.”
The Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival, now going into its 6th season, is one of the Midwest’s premiere cultural and musical events. With over 5,000 annual visitors, spinoff projects with international reach and touring, and a recent $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the festival is well on it’s way to becoming a major player in the national cultural scene.
The 2025 festival will will take place from July 25-Aug. 2 and feature a program guest-curated by the internationally renowned composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, with over 50 artists from all over the world and from Nebraska’s own communities with events in both Lincoln and Omaha. Recent festival projects have been featured as far afield as Finland and New York.
