The mission of the UNK (University of Nebraska at Kearney) One-Handed Woodwinds Program is to make one-handed woodwind instruments available to individuals with permanent disabilities.
The UNK One-Handed Woodwinds Program was created in 2001, when David Nabb returned to university teaching with a Bundy Prototype Toggle-Key saxophone built by Jeff Stelling. David Nabb used this saxophone until his current instrument (a Yamaha YAS 875) had been converted to the Toggle-key mechanism in 2003.
David Nabb is Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he teaches Woodwind Instruments, Music History, and directs the UNK One-Handed Woodwinds Program. Since surviving a catastrophic stroke in 2000, David Nabb has worked to develop musical opportunities for persons with disabilities. Beginning in 2001, Nabb worked with instrument builder Jeff Stelling to conceive, design, build, and demonstrate a professional saxophone that can be played with one hand. Nabb is a member of the NASA (North American Saxophone Alliance) Committee on DEIBA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Accessibility) the Cincinnati Adaptive Arts and Music Project.
In 2011, David Nabb and Jeff Stelling received awards from MENC (Music Educators National Conference), VSA (Very Special Arts), NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), and NAPBIRT (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In 2013, they received the first-ever OHMI/Ars Electronica prize for their work on the toggle-key saxophone at Bruckner Hall in Linz, Austria. Dr. Nabb was selected via a worldwide casting call to be featured in the cast and the musical soundtrack for BBC’s 2016 Paralympics television commercial “We’re the Superhumans.” Within two months, this video had more than 50 million views online and went on to win dozens of international awards, including Grand Prix at the 2017 Cannes Lions Festival. In 2023, David Nabb became the first person to perform with a one-handed saxophone in a prestigious “evening concert” at a NASA Biennial Conference.
The toggle key saxophone has been featured in installations at the Museum of the Royal Colleges of Music, and the NAMM Museum of Making Music (San Diego).
Nabb has written articles on music making for people with disabilities for many national and international publications, including Saxophone Symposium, Teaching Music, Music Educators Journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists, Flöte Aktuell, The Flutist Quarterly, The Journal of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and The Journal of Research in Music Education.
David Nabb is a Yamaha performing Artist (YAS 875 adapted for right handed playing by Stelling Brass & Winds), and plays Eugene Rousseau saxophone mouthpieces.
Jeff Stelling is the owner of Stelling Brass & Winds, a complete instrument repair and custom horn-building shop in Kearney, Nebraska. He has given numerous presentations and clinics concerning maintenance, repair, and customizing instruments throughout the United States and was recently contracted to evaluate several lines of instruments for an international instrument wholesaler.
Stelling earned a Bachelors Degree in Music Business from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1993 and completed an apprenticeship with an Allied repair technician following graduation. Stelling lives in Kearney, Nebraska, with his wife Kandi, and daughters Mariah and Cassidy. He enjoys playing trombone in a number of musical groups.
The concept of a "toggle-key" system for woodwinds was developed from 2000 to 2003 by Stelling Brass & Winds and Dr. David Nabb. The toggle-keys allow the entire instrument to be played using only one hand.
Learn more about the "toggle-key" system.
In spring 2026 the Program assembled these 12 one-handed recorders designed by Peter Worrell in England and 3D printed by May We Help in Cincinnati, OH. If you are interested in leasing one, please apply here.
Claire BahenskyMeet 11 year-old Claire Bahensky of Lincoln, NE. Claire is just beginning her second year in the band program at St. Joseph Catholic School. Claire is unable to play a conventional saxophone, because she has lived with a brachial plexus injury since birth. Read about her very special one-handed saxophone.
This is 5th Grader Mattie Auger, from Giltner, NE. She is playing the one-handed soprano recorder she now leases from the program. She plays the one-handed recorder in the flute section of her beginning band. Mattie is unable to play a conventional musical instrument because she has lived with a brachial plexus injury to her right arm since birth. Read about our new one-handed recorder program in the Recorders Initiative tab.
In Fall 2025 we finally achieved pour goal of raising the funds necessary to convert another saxophone to the toggle-key mechanism. Once the adaptation work is complete (likely in 2028), This left-handed version will available for lease to persons with disabilities. If you or someone you know may be interested in leasing this instrument please apply here. This project is funded by the Arthur Klinkacek Community Enrichment Fund, the Ted Baldwin Donor Advised Fund, the Nebraska Arts Council, and hundreds of individual donors via the “One Day for UNK" drive. We have had additional support of the Kearney Area Community Foundation, and partnership support from the Kearney Symphony Orchestra.
Beginning in 2003, the program has leased the Bundy TKS Prototype saxophone to a series of musicians with disabilities, including Kyungsun Orr (amputee), Renee Weinstein (left arm paralysis from brachial plexus injury), Michael McNamara (brain tumor), 2018-2021, Tony Lo (spinal cord injury), and beginning in Fall 2022, Claire Bahensky (brachial plexus injury). Mattie Auger (brachial plexus injury) began leasing a left-handed recorder in September 2026.
Watch and listen to Claire play her one-handed saxophone with her 5th Grade Christmas Concert on December 2, 2022:
One Handed Musical Instrument Trust.The world's most comprehensive clearinghouse for information on one handed musical instruments.
Learn about one-handed recorders!
The following news stories highlight the UNK One-Handed Woodwinds Program:
Central Nebraska Today: UNK One-Handed Woodwind Program Gaining New Saxophone
UNK News: The Gift of Music: Lincoln girl receives one-handed saxophone through UNK program
The July - August 2011 issue of the Journal of the National Association of the Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians featured a cover photo and article about the toggle-key saxophone:
Other Articles:
Halftime Magazine - November/December 2008
Lincoln Journal Star - August 18, 2013
| Date | Event | Location |
| November 21, 2026 | Kentucky Adaptive Music Network Conference | Morehead State University Morehead, KY |
| March 5-7 2027 | North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Region 3 Meeting | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA |
| July 19-23 2027 | Cincinnati Adaptive Music Camp | University of Northern Kentucky Highland Heights, KY |
The following have supported the UNK One-Handed Woodwinds Program:
