Creative Support for Organizations-Round 1

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$30,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Northern Lights Music Festival, Inc
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
December 2022
End Date
November 2023
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Carlton
Cook
Hennepin
Itasca
Koochiching
Lake
St. Louis
Carlton
Cook
Hennepin
Itasca
Koochiching
Lake
St. Louis
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 1

Project Details

Northern Lights Music Festival will present a full season of professional classical music and opera during the month of July to the residents and visitors of the Iron Range of northern Minnesota.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Uri Camarena: business consultant; Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Emily Galusha: arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner: vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Ken Martin, political strategist and campaign manager; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Denver Air, adjunct college faculty; Nichole Melton-Mitchell: healthcare administrator; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former arts administrator; Christina Woods: executive director, Duluth Art Institute

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Kimberly Blievernicht: Owner of HR Smarts a just in time HR service provider in the Twin Cities market. She has been in business for 6 years serving small to medium privately held businesses. She was on the board of Director for 6 years of Stevie Rays Improv Company as a volunteer. She had been for the last 10 years the President of the St. Johns?s Foundation based in Mound, MN. She has a degree in Marketing and Distributive education from the University of Wisconsin Stout with a minor in Business Administration.; Maria Groth: Currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Community Action Duluth, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower and engage our community to eliminate poverty. Groth previously was attending secondary education at the University of Minnesota Duluth where they graduated with a BA in economics. They also have formal performance experience with the Augsburg University Concert Band as a clarinetist.; Mary Ann Laxen: Now retired, Laxen was Chair and member of the Board of the Northwest Council for the Arts. Laxen presently Chairs the Board of the East Grand Forks, Friends of the Campbell Library. As Director of the Physician Assistant Program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, they wrote and received many grants. Laxen has a Masters in Health Care Administration from the U of Wisconsin, is a Physician Assistant and Family Nurse Practitioner. ; Samuel Schultz: An attorney with experience in administration and non-profit governance. He has previously worked with non-profits?such as the Lexington-Hamline Community Council and the League of Minnesota Cities?on matters relating to the allocation of public funds. He is currently serving as a judicial law clerk for the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He received his J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and his B.A. from Luther College, where he majored in English and Political Science. He is a lifelong participant in the arts and is a member of the League of Minnesota Poets.; Keith Williams: Has been an artist and educator since the late 1970?s. His BS in Art Education is from UW, Madison. His MFA in Ceramics is from UI, Iowa City. He creates a variety of work in different media, including mural sized work. He plays jazz sax and clarinet, but primarily he loves teaching. Williams has served on the board of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Art as Director at Large, President Elect, President and Past President and helped plan the 2019 Claytopia conference in Minneapolis.; Erin Wojciechowski: A current instructor in the Social Work Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Prior to this, she spent 10 years working at various nonprofits in Duluth, MN focusing on the fields of domestic violence and youth services. Before her most recent work as an instructor she served as the Executive Director for the nonprofit Mentor North and helped oversee administrative aspects of the organization.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2021, First Special Session, chapter 1, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$30,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$30,000
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

NlMF Provides a full season of professional opera, chamber music and symphonic music in July 2022. Surveys of audience members will be conducted, with questions that lead them to responses about their emotional reactions, and their thoughts about the place of these performances in the context of 21st century life.

Measurable Outcome(s)

NLMF provided the Iron Range with 27 different events of opera, chamber music and symphonic music; a lecture series, a Suzuki violin program in 2023. Written and Oral evaluations of our programming were used throughout the season, asking patrons to describe their reactions to our events, and how the patrons found personal meaning in their attendance at our events.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved proposed outcomes.
Recipient Board Members
Barbara Baldrica, Mary Mulari, Matthew Uhan, Gregg Allen, Veda Zuponcic, Erik Erie, Lynne King, Jonathan Cleghorn, Mary Smith Henschel, Patty Phillips, Martin Zuponcic, Vicky Gornick, Ryan Bajan, Rita Taylor, Veda Zuponcic, Stephen Levchak.
Project Manager
First Name
Veda
Last Name
Zuponcic
Organization Name
Northern Lights Music Festival, Inc.
Street Address
PO Box 147
City
Gilbert
State
MN
Zip Code
55741
Phone
(609) 922-2965
Email
zuponcic@yahoo.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency