This is a feature story I wrote on University of Nebraska at Omaha student Luke Annis. I produced this story because Annis has a unique background when it comes to music. He has recorded with several bands such as Bach Mai, and rock band Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal. Additionally, Annis has traveled to different places around the world including Shizuoka, Japan, Beijing, China, Siauliai, Lithuania Riga, Latvia, Seoul South Korea, and Hong Kong. The result of this story was able to give more of Annis musical works more exposure through social media websites such as Facebook and music streaming services such as Spotify.
OMAHA, Neb. —A 10-year-old boy walks into his closet with his 8-year-old sister Sarah to pull out the thousands of pieces of legos he has stored away. The sound of legos banging together fills the room as the boy spreads the legos over the carpet floor. The boy walks over to his desk to grab a disk sealed in a light green case; the boy inserts the disk and turns up the volume to the sound of his favorite game, Revolt.
“This sounds like the game we play at Nanny and Papa’s,” Sarah said.
“It is,” the boy said. “I finished recording the music on my synthesizer yesterday.”
Luke Annis was born in 1996 in Omaha, Nebraska where his mother Denise and father Douglas Annis raised him and his sister Sarah Annis.
As a child, Annis played baseball through Millard Athletics and Flag Football through the Young Men’s Christian Association. When not playing sports, Annis said, most of his time was spent playing video games or building legos.
“I was always really keyed into the music in the video games, or if I was playing with legos I would have songs going on in my head,” he said.
Annis would recreate the songs he would hear on his synthesizer and burn the music onto a CD to play in his room.
“When I was messing around on instruments it was just really fun to be able to figure out the stuff that I had in my head and I could make it happen,” Annis said.
Annis went to Lifegate Christian School for elementary and middle school, where he learned to play the trombone.
Annis said he originally wanted to play drums but had to have two years of playing the piano before starting drum lessons.
Annis did concert band during his 5th-grade year and was promoted to play in the 7th and 8th-grade concert and jazz bands as a 6th grader. Additionally, Annis participated in school events and competed in competitions at Adventureland Amusement Park and Platteview High School for solo and concert music.
Annis enrolled at Millard North High School after LCS. Annis was involved in marching, concert and jazz band all four years at MNHS and traveled to Walt Disney World his sophomore year to play in a parade with the MNHS band.
During his junior year, Annis made the Metro Area Youth Jazz Orchestra, where he met professor and coordinator of Jazz Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Dr. Pete Madsen. MAJO, an All-City Jazz Band run by UNO, consists of the top high school jazz players in Nebraska.
Annis performed at UNO Jazz Band concerts and worked with guest artists Donny McCaslin and Ken Watters.
“I’ve been fortunate all these years where I feel like I’m of the weakest or one of the least experienced musicians, because when you’re in a situation like that it forces you to step up your game,” Annis said.
Annis graduated from MNHS in 2014 and enrolled at UNO in the fall of 2014 to study trombone performance.
While at UNO, Annis has traveled throughout the world and performed in cities with the UNO Jazz Band including Shizuoka, Japan, Saulkrasti, Latvia, Beijing, China, Siauliai, Lithuania, Riga, Latvia, Seoul, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Annis has recorded with bands Bach Mai and rock band Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal, attended creative jazz workshops in New York City and has performed with other bands such as Moonriver Steamboat, High Up, Esencia Latina and the Marcus Lewis Big Band at the Omaha jazz club the Jewell.
Annis teaches trombone lessons at Thompson Music for middle school and high school students and is a teacher assistant for music theory at UNO. Annis earned his bachelor’s degree in trombone performance from UNO in 2018 and will earn his master’s degree in trombone performance in May.
“I just want to make music with people that I enjoy being around and hopefully benefit the community in some way,” Annis said. “And if I can do that I’ll be extremely happy.”
