We are saddened to hear about the passing of Dennis Schneider. Professor Dennis Schneider came to the University of Nebraska Glenn Korff School of Music in 1961 as instructor of brass instruments after three years as band director in the Falls City, Nebraska, Public Schools. He retired from UNL in 1997 as full professor. A graduate of Lincoln High School, Schneider received his bachelor of music in education from the University of Nebraska and his master of music in education from Indiana University.
During his 36-year career at UNL, Schneider appeared often as a featured performer, panelist, and lecturer at the annual conventions of the International Trumpet Guild and frequently served as an adjudicator and clinician in music festivals throughout the state of Nebraska and nationwide.
In 1986, he received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences, and in 1995, he received one from the College of Fine and Performing Arts. In 1992, he received a Mayor’s Arts Award. Many of his former students now hold responsible performing and teaching positions throughout the nation, and several have been national and international winners in major competitions.
He previously served as a principal trumpet with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, Opera Omaha, the Cabrillo (California) Festival Orchestra, and performed several times as a member of the trumpet section with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He was also a performer and recording artist with the Summer Brass Festival in Colorado.
In 2004, he was inducted into the Nebraska Music Educators Hall of Fame. In 2012, he received the International Trumpet Guild’s Award of Merit.