Arts Education

Janet Anderson: Anderson is a writer living in Saint Peter, where her column, "Smaller," appears in the St. Peter Herald. She taught composition at St. Catherine University and The Loft and has been a judge for the Playwrights' Center and the Minnesota Book Awards. She is working on a book of essays and photographs about the value of urban nature during the pandemic and social unrest in Minneapolis.; Robyn Hennen: Hennen is in her second year as the executive director of the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota. Previously, she worked in connections and engagement for a nonprofit in the Saint Cloud area. Hennen has a BA in political science and an MS in counseling psychology from St. Cloud State University. She is an active volunteer with local youth.; Marshall Hoffman: Hoffman has been president of the board of the Morris Area Arts Boosters since 2014. The nonprofit's goal is to provide arts enrichment opportunities for students in the Morris School District. From May 2018 - May 2022, he served as news director for KMRS/KKOK radio stations in Morris, where he often interviewed artists and organizations that brought in artists on the Community Connection program. He is a past multiple winner of the Simon Rockower Journalism Award, a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, and formerly served on the boards for Morris Area Community Education Advisory Council, and Pomme de Terre Food Co-op. He graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, with a BA in journalism and mass communications, and a senior certificate in business administration.; Russell Kaplan: Kaplan is a composer, pianist, vocalist, and music educator. In the musical theater world, he is one of the cocreators of In Transit, Broadway's first a cappella musical, and several other musicals. He has released two albums of original jazz and solo piano music on Philadelphia's Ropeadope Records. He holds a BFA in theatrical directing with a minor in jazz piano performance from Carnegie Mellon University.; Dayna Martinez: Martinez is the new executive director of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and most recently comes from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts where she worked for 25 years, serving in various capacities starting in development and the box office, spending many years as contract manager, and most recently as vice president of programming and education. She holds a BA in music from Avila University and a MA in performing arts management from Columbia College ? Chicago. Martinez currently sits on the boards of the St. Paul Festival Association, Minnesota Presenters Network, and TaikoArts Midwest. She is actively involved in the national Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP).; Laura Nichols: Nichols, mezzo-soprano, has been a featured oratorio and orchestral soloist with many accomplished conductors. She was a principal member of the world premiere casts of Dominic Argento?s Casanova?s Homecoming, William Mayer?s A Death in the Family, and Conrad Susa's Black River. She has degrees from Rutgers University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Minnesota; her mentors include the famed mezzo-sopranos Jan DeGaetani and Elizabeth Mannion. Nichols recently retired as an assistant professor of music at Macalester College in Saint Paul, where she taught voice, ran the opera workshop, and coached the principals in the biannual musical.; Michael Speck: Speck is an actor, administrator, and fight director based in southeast Minnesota. He is a certified teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and an adjunct instructor in stage combat for Viterbo University; he received adjunct of the year recognition for the '22-'23 academic year.; Nathaniel Wunrow: Wunrow is currently employed as a bids writer for a company that provides self-service and automation solutions to libraries. Previously, he worked for the Walker Art Center as their cataloging librarian, the Minnesota Historical Society in their development department, interned with The Soap Factory, and was on the board of the Saint Paul Art Collective. He received his MA in English and a graduate certificate in museum studies from the University of St. Thomas. In 2016-17, he wrote and received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant for his amazing spouse.