Heritage 2026
Thomas Kluge, Artistic Director
3-Concert Series
Sundays at 3:00 p.m. at the Omaha Conservatory of Music
7023 Cass Street
Join the Omaha Chamber Music Society for the 2026 Heritage Series devoted to music by three composers—Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. A collaboration of the Omaha Chamber Music Society and the Flatiron Luthier Cooperative, Heritage 2026 was curated by its Artistic Director Thomas Kluge, principal violist of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. You must be there for these three unforgettable evenings!
January 18, 2026
Music of Schumann
3:00pm Omaha Conservatory of Music Karina Brazas, soprano Henry Jenkins, violin
Adagio & Allegro, Op.70 Carmelo Galante, clarinet Bozhidar Shopov, violin
Selections from Liederkreis, Op. 39 Brett Hodge, horn Thomas Kluge, viola
Selections from Myrthen, Op. 25 Anne Madison, piano Gregory Clinton, cello
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 Christi Zuniga, piano
String Quartet, Op. 41, No. 3
A highwire display of horn athleticism (the Adagio & Allegro for Horn and Piano) sets the course for our deep dive into “Mr. Romantic” Robert Schumann’s music on our first 2026 Heritage Series concert. Music for Clarinet & Piano expresses a Romantic mood three different ways—tenderly, lively, and with fire. Of the eight gorgeous songs on the program, the exquisite “Mondnacht (“Moonlit Night”) hides a secret code that only his wife Clara would have understood; and the song cycle Myrthen was Schumann’s gift to his bride on their wedding eve, including “Dedication,” a breathless outpouring of passion and love that’s sure to take the listener’s breath away. Concluding the concert is Quartet No. 3 in A Major, unveiling a range of Romantic emotions from lyrical to turbulent.
March 22, 2026
Music of Mendelssohn
3:00pm Omaha Conservatory of Music Henry Jenkins, violin Kevin Tompkins, violin
String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13 Bozhidar Shopov, violin Yi-Miao Huang, violin
String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 Thomas Kluge, viola Alexa Brown, viola
Gregory Clinton, cello Tim Strang, cello
Well known and cherished works by the “Wunderkind” of the Romantic era, Felix Mendelssohn, grace the second 2026 Heritage Series concert. As an in-love teenager he wrote the String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, inspired by his fervent song “Is it True?” Its stormy passages alternate with the shimmery, gossamer sound world of the composer’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The cherished Octet—eight players performing as a sparkling ensemble—showcases the music’s rich palette of exuberance, dreamy colors, and soaring themes that—for two centuries—have left audiences absolutely giddy with joy.
May 10, 2025
Music of Brahms
3:00pm Omaha Conservatory of Music Anne Madison, piano
Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118 Yulia Kalashnikova, piano
Ballade in G Minor, Op. 118 Henry Jenkins, violin
Hungarian Dances for Piano Four Hands, Nos. 1, 3-6 Bozhidar Shopov, violin
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 Thomas Kluge, violin & viola
String Quintet In G Major, Op. 111 Alexa Brown, viola
Gregory Clinton, cello
Concluding the 2026 Heritage Series is a rich sampling of Brahms’s glorious canon, beginning with solo piano works and five of his Magyar-spiced Hungarian Dances for Piano Four Hands. The gentle Violin Sonata, inspired by a young singer the composer yearned for (but already being in his 50s thought best not to act on), features Thomas Kluge, artistic director of Heritage. The exuberant Quintet, nearly symphonic in proportions, features the cello in bravura fireworks for the instrument, and a dramatic unison scale by all players predicts the work’s ending—but not before Brahms gives a final salute to the gypsy in his soul.