Dave Klein was inducted into the Nebraska Music Educators Association Hall of Fame in 2011. He was string specialist for the Kearney Public Schools, and band instructor at Ewing, Valentine, and Norfolk High Schools. He served as president of the Nebraska Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, and was twice the NMEA Orchestra Chair. He was named to the Jim Johnson Memorial Chair (Hastings Symphony), the 1999 String Teachers Association Teacher of the Year, and the 2010 National Federation of High Schools Nebraska Music Educator of the Year.