the band

Brenda Stursma

Brenda is our vocal Swiss Army knife. Singing high, low, and everything in between, she can find the toughest harmonies and often does vocal gymnastics to work around melodies that move up and down a lot!  

Recently an empty-nester, she and her honey Mark have two boys in college this fall.  She is looking forward to the extra time to pick up her instruments again.  We can't wait to see what mad honey we can make when she does!

Emily Wadhams

Emily is our resident Mother Earth alto, who always lays the foundation for a honey-sweet harmony.  She is a board certified Music Therapist with a collection of instruments, both serious and playful, that keep our swarm stocked with fun things to play and new sounds to play with!  She regularly plays guitar for the group and recently picked up the bass to round out our instrumental sound.  We joke that she brings the #BigBassEnergy!

She and her honey Jeremy have a houseful of school-aged kiddos and cats, and she also owns a thriving practice, Omaha Music Therapy. 

Amy Luckenbill

Amy is the group's songwriter and wordy wordsmith.  She fills in the vocal gaps where she can and loves singing the middle part to blend harmonies.  A lifelong pianist and former choral conductor, music educator, and church musician, she spent her extra hours during the pandemic learning the guitar, which has added a new dimension to the group!  She says, "It takes a long time to get piano hands to do what guitar hands do!"

She and #hubbee Don have to two teen-aged boys, one in high school and one in college.  A menagerie of cats and dogs round out the house.

Kyle Knapp

Somehow, Kyle manages to fit right into this hive full of queen bees.  He plays anything we throw at him, with spirit and aplomb, and we couldn't be more honored that he graciously carves out time to join us regularly and to help us get some quality recordings on file.

He and his honey, Gail, are empty nesters and often welcome recording artists to their home to work in Kyle's recording studio.

You can find information on Kyle's solo schedule at kyleknapp.com.  Be sure to sign up for his newsletter for regular updates on his performance schedule.

sam perkins

Samantha Perkins is a violinist, pianist, and vocalist within the Omaha, NE, community. She has a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree specializing in Music Technology from University of Nebraska at Omaha. She was highly involved in the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Concert Choir, Jazz Choir, and Contemporary Music Ensemble 768. 
Perkins has performed for many artists, which include Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Buble, Disturbed, Rod Stewart, and Kansas. She also plays for several shows for community theaters. She has been teaching privately for the last 13 years. When she is not teaching or performing, she likes to do other forms of art such as composing, recording, crocheting, baking, painting, and enjoying and pondering all the small things with her children and cats.

greg ahl

Greg began private instruction at 10 years of age. After his family moved to Athens Ohio, he continued private study with the late Guy Remonko, Professor Emeritus of Music at Ohio University.
His regular attendance at the annual Jazz Drumming Workshop hosted at Ohio University afforded Greg the opportunity to study with many prestigious instructors such as Ed Soph, Bob Breithaupt and Steve Houghton.
After moving to Nebraska in the mid-1980’s, he became close friends with many of Omaha and Lincoln’s finest local musicians, entertainers and celebrities. Their acceptance and support was the catalyst for his musical establishment in the Midwest.
Greg has traveled the United States, Europe and the Caribbean as a cruise ship drummer. In addition he has backed various artists including Paul Shafer, Doc Severinsen, Greg Abate, Joe Cartwright, Angela Hagenbach, Rex Cadwallader, Eldar Djangirov, Kelly Ellenwood, Kahil El’Zabar, Kirk Garrison, Ryan Kisor, Kevin Mahogany, Don Menza, Roger Neumann, Jeff Newell, Claudio Roditi, Arturo Sandoval, Bob Newhart, Howie Mandel and many others.
He performs locally in the Omaha / Lincoln area with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, Michael Gurciullo’s Las Vegas Lab band, Jorge Nila, Matt Wallace, Dr. Darryl White, Susie Thorne, The Hegg Brothers, Alexis Arai and other talented regional artists.