Internationally acclaimed drummer and composer Victor Lewis will be honored with an honorary doctorate at the December 8, 2016 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music Jazz Orchestra and Big Band concert.

Lewis was born on May 20 in Omaha, Nebraska. Victor started studying music when he was ten and a half years old. He began on the cello because he was too small for the acoustic bass, but switched to the drums a year and a half later after watching the local drum corps marching on the Fourth of July and other holidays. He also studied classical piano which is when he learned how to read music.
After he graduated from high school Victor enrolled in the University of Nebraska as a music major. There he studied classical percussion because the school had no jazz program. Still one of the busiest performers around, Victor is also currently composing music for several upcoming recording projects, including his own efforts, and continuing his attempts at combining lyrics with his tunes. He made his big-screen performance debut in the film Kansas City from producer/director Robert Altman. A fictionalized account of jazz and the scene in the music capital in the early 1930’s, the film stars Harry Bellafonte and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Victor portrays a character loosely based on the drummer and jazz-legend Papa Jo Jones.

In 2003 Victor joined the faculty of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ where he teaches drummers and coaches jazz combos.

The UNL Jazz Orchestra, directed by Paul Haar, is the university’s showcase jazz ensemble and one of the Glenn Korff School of Music’s most visible performing groups. The UNL Big Band, directed by Jesse McBee, is a vital component of the UNL jazz curriculum.