spotlight Sponsor Story

KEVIN & DIANE KLEIN

Kevin and Diane Klein have been married for over 20 years and have enjoyed shows at the Lied Center for even longer. Both have served on the Friends of Lied board and have enjoyed many events that support the amazing theater and its programming. “With offerings of Broadway, dance, family friendly shows and so much more, it is the perfect place for us and our children to enjoy all areas of the performing arts and what Lincoln has to offer. It is one of our favorite places to be!”

Jon hinrichs & donna woods

Jon Hinrichs and Donna W. Woods are longtime Lincoln community leaders and supporters.

Jon is a retired physician, as well as a musician who especially enjoys playing jazz and old standards. He has been a long-standing supporter of the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra and Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra. Donna has a well-known passion for the visual arts and also enjoys performing arts programs. She was part of the Lied Center’s founding team of community leaders, playing a role in the interior design of the venue in the late 1980s.

Mary Oestmann Goldberg

As a child, I heard many recordings of jazz bands because my parents were great fans of the Big Bands of the 40s. I did not like these recordings of Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers and others as a child. This was old music for old people. My father loved to listen to these records and had directed and contracted for his own Big Band that had a regular weekly radio program and played gigs throughout the East coast during his college years. After being drafted during WW 2, he was assigned to directing Big Bands that entertained troops on the East Coast and at Great Lakes in Chicago.

Many years later, when I started a graduate program at UMKC Conservatory there was a huge jazz culture in the Kansas City area. Though this was not my field of study, I became extremely interested in the programs presented at the Charlie Parker Museum, at the University, and at the City Parks. Slowly, my interest and understanding increased and I put much of what I learned to work when I went back to teaching.

I feel very privileged to now support the new Jazz Circle at the Lied Center. I look forward to outstanding upcoming Jazz presentations and to UNL/Public school student interaction with world-class artists through educational programs sponsored by the Lied. To have additional Jazz opportunities through the Lied Center is nothing but a plus for the state of Nebraska.