Omaha Under the Radar 2015

A festival for contemporary music, dance, and theatre in Omaha, NE.

The Latest Update

Announcing Omaha Under the Radar 2016!

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Amanda DeBoer

Dear new music friends and lovers-

We are so pleased to share with you the line-up for the 2016 Omaha Under the Radar Festival, presented by Analog Arts.

It was exciting and challenging to finalize the line-up. We received 250 applications and could only invite 40 projects to take place during the festival. We invited groups and soloists from around the country representing many different creative performing disciplines. We hope you’ll check them out!

It has been such a rewarding process building this festival in our hometown of Omaha, where venues and arts presenters are eager to grow the experimental scene. We’ve received a huge outpouring of support from audiences, local businesses, nonprofits, and venues. Of course, it’s a huge effort. If you’d like to get involved, check out our support page.

Thanks again New Music USA for supporting our 2015 festival! And to the community of artists who make this festival such an enlightening experience!

love

OUTR

Photo: tbd. dance collective by Aleksandr Karjaka

More Updates ▼

Different Homecomings

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Amanda DeBoer

Well, it’s that time again. The Omaha Under the Radar 2016 application is due on December 1st, and the team is gearing up for another intense planning season.

I met the organizing team at different times throughout my life – Kate Campbell was a fellow at Bang on a Can with me in 2009, Aubrey Byerly was my buddy during my masters degree at the University at Buffalo, Stacey Barelos I met after I moved back to Omaha in 2012. The one thing we all have in common is a love for Omaha – our home town.

I’ve always felt that being able to build something, especially something lasting, was more meaningful for me than fitting into a pre-existing scene. And to be able to build this festival in my home town with women who love this place as much as I do has been an honor I could have never predicted.

On top of all that, to see my friends from around the country performing alongside artists from my community is emotionally thrilling, making the world seem that much smaller and a little more inviting.

We look forward to another adventure in 2016!

Amanda

Pictured: Liz Pearse sings “Folk Songs” by Luciano Berio. Photo courtesy of Aleksandr Karjaka

Hey! It Happened! Omaha Under the Radar 2015:

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Amanda DeBoer

Thanks to New Music USA and the Nebraska Arts Council, as well as our amazing organizing team, volunteers, hosts, venues, audiences, and (most importantly) AMAZING artists, Omaha Under the Radar 2015 was an inspiring and successful weekend.

We presented 16 hours of performances and talks with over 100 performers and creators. We packed our venues, had stimulating conversations, and connected with colleagues from around the country.

We are so grateful for the support from New Music USA, as this allowed us to pay all of the performing acts and provide support for creative innovators.

We’ll continue to share image and media from the festival throughout the year, so stay tuned!!!

Amanda

(picture: Paul Pinto leads a performance of Julius Eastman’s “Stay On It” photographed by Aleksandr Karjaka)

Thank you, and see you next week!

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Amanda DeBoer

Hi Friends-

We are ecstatic and so grateful to New Music USA for supporting Omaha Under the Radar 2015. We think that festivals are one of the best ways to bring communities of artists together, reach new audiences, and elevate our artforms.

Omaha is a very special place, and we can’t wait to introduce it to a group of artists who have not performed here. We are also giddy to showcase all of our regional talent.

If you’re in the area, we hope you’ll consider making to one of the 12 events we have planned!!

Sincerely

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, director

Overview

Omaha Under the Radar is an annual experimental performance festival in Nebraska, featuring four days of performances, multiple venues, and inspiring performers from around the country. It is the only event of its kind in the state. In its first year, Omaha Under the Radar brought over 1,000 attendees to venues across Omaha to experience the biggest variety of contemporary music, dance, and theatre ever presented together in the city. Along with providing a platform for artists living and working in the region, Omaha Under the Radar brings together performing artists from around the country to share their work, both with each other and with a continually developing scene and audience in the Midwest.

The second annual festival will be held July 8-11, 2015 at 7 different venues with over 16 hours of performances. We are featuring some of the finest and most innovative performers working today, many of which have never performed in Omaha. We’ll be presenting events at galleries, bars, concert halls, public libraries, outdoor spaces, and old an old ballroom. We’re featuring contemporary masterwoks, such as Luciano Berio’s “Folk Songs” and John Zorn’s “Cobra,” as well as world premiere performances, interactive home-made instrument exhibits, collaborative interdisciplinary projects, and immersive soundscapes created for the festival.

We have partnered with several extremely supportive organizations to make this festival a success, including the University of Nebraska Omaha, Analog Arts, Joslyn Art Museum, KANEKO, Commonwealth Recording Studios, and the Bancroft Street Market.

We are especially excited about our educational camp for 12-16 year olds that will include workshops in instrument building, music technology, improvisation, and composition. Called SOUNDRY, the camp will encourage students to explore the listening and sound creation process in an active and fun way. Camp performers will also present their work to the public as part of the festival.

Omaha Under the Radar a very ambitious and exciting festival that hopes to elevate the experimental performance scene developing in Omaha, as well as provide a national platform for artists working in the Midwest through performance and educational opportunities.

Project Media

“Jeff Young and Paul Pinto, Patriots…” by thingNY

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thingNY will present a music/theatre performance at Omaha Under the Radar. More about them:

thingNY is a quirky collective of New York composer-performers who fuse electronic and acoustic chamber music with new opera, improvisation, theater, text, song and installation. Founded in 2006 for an ad hoc festival in the historic Loew’s Jersey City Theater, thingNY performs experimental sound works created collaboratively by the core ensemble.

Shanna Gutierrez “Unleashed”

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Shanna Gutierrez will present her recital “UNLEASHED” as part of Omaha Under the Radar 2015.

Sean Thomas Boyt x Andy Thierauf Dance/Percussion

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Sean Thomas Boyt and Andy Thierauf will present their dance/percussion duo performance at Omaha Under the Radar 2015.

Start and End Dates

07/06/2015 — 07/11/2015

Location

Omaha, Nebraska

4 updates

Last update on February 16, 2016

Project Created By

Amanda DeBoer

Omaha, Nebraska

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett is an experimental singer and presenter based in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a member of Ensemble Dal Niente, is a co-founder of Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and is the director of an experimental performance festival called Omaha Under the Radar. Learn more: www.undertheradaromaha.com Instagram: @omaha_undertheradar www.facebook.com/omahaundertheradar www.amandadeboer.com