Arts and Cultural Heritage

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2025 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$6,060
Recipient
Minnesota River Valley Wind Ensemble
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
In Progress
Start Date
September 2024
End Date
June 2025
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Blue Earth
Brown
Faribault
Freeborn
Le Sueur
Martin
Nicollet
Rice
Steele
Sibley
Waseca
Waseca
Blue Earth
Brown
Faribault
Freeborn
Le Sueur
Martin
Nicollet
Rice
Steele
Sibley
Waseca
Waseca
Project Overview

Arts and Cultural Heritage

Project Details

They will present their 18th season performing a wide variety of challenging wind music with three concerts at three different venues in the region. Funds will be used for the director's stipend, publicity, and rental fees.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Julie Forderer: retired elementary and special education teacher at United South Central Public School, Wells, choreographer for school musicals and community theater events; Moni Harper: musician with the Fairmont City Band, the Trimont Centennial Band, and the bugler for Fairmont VFW and Legion Honor Guard, has served on the Boards for Fairmont Opera House and Civic Summer Theatre; Emily Heinis: writer, communications professional, and former english teacher,received the Prentice Hall Developing Leadership Award from the MN Council of Teachers of English, and served as Poetry and Visual Arts Editor for Blue Earth Review; Devon Lawrence: directs all 9th-12th grade bands at Waseca Jr. Sr. High School, Program Coordinator for River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps, performs with multiple groups including Little Chicago and Southern Minnesota's Real Big Band; Michael Looft: City Administrator for Winthrop and is an integral part of the Bavarian Blast music festival, New Ulm; Randy Mediger: retired principal and teacher and charter member of LeSueur Community Theater; Kjerstin Moody: associate professor of Scandinavian Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, leads a Nordic Book Circle at the American Swedish Institute, served on the board of the Modern Literature Association (MLA) Nordic Literature group; Kerry Nagel-Allen: guardian and/or conservatorship for individuals with mental health, developmental disabilities and the elderly, served and volunteers with the Fairmont Opera House; Gabriela Roemhildt: St. Peter Recreation Department coordinating lifelong learning and entertainment programs for adults, has served on the board of Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra; Sandy Sunde: retired Language Arts teacher and high school musical director, member of Uniting Cultures Community Theater Board and CAPP-Comprehensive Arts Planning Program; Dave Wahl: singer, actor, and former musician, and an active board member of the Springfield Community Theatre; Mark Wamma: Music Director and Operations Director for Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra, teaches violin and viola, and a founding member of the Two Rivers Community Orchestra and River Valley String Quartet.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Julie Forderer: retired elementary and special education teacher at United South Central Public School, Wells, choreographer for school musicals and community theater events; Moni Harper: musician with the Fairmont City Band, the Trimont Centennial Band, and the bugler for Fairmont VFW and Legion Honor Guard, has served on the Boards for Fairmont Opera House and Civic Summer Theatre; Emily Heinis: writer, communications professional, and former english teacher,received the Prentice Hall Developing Leadership Award from the MN Council of Teachers of English, and served as Poetry and Visual Arts Editor for Blue Earth Review; Devon Lawrence: directs all 9th-12th grade bands at Waseca Jr. Sr. High School, Program Coordinator for River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps, performs with multiple groups including Little Chicago and Southern Minnesota's Real Big Band; Michael Looft: City Administrator for Winthrop and is an integral part of the Bavarian Blast music festival, New Ulm; Randy Mediger: retired principal and teacher and charter member of LeSueur Community Theater; Kjerstin Moody: associate professor of Scandinavian Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, leads a Nordic Book Circle at the American Swedish Institute, served on the board of the Modern Literature Association (MLA) Nordic Literature group; Kerry Nagel-Allen: guardian and/or conservatorship for individuals with mental health, developmental disabilities and the elderly, served and volunteers with the Fairmont Opera House; Gabriela Roemhildt: St. Peter Recreation Department coordinating lifelong learning and entertainment programs for adults, has served on the board of Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra; Sandy Sunde: retired Language Arts teacher and high school musical director, member of Uniting Cultures Community Theater Board and CAPP-Comprehensive Arts Planning Program; Dave Wahl: singer, actor, and former musician, and an active board member of the Springfield Community Theatre; Mark Wamma: Music Director and Operations Director for Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra, teaches violin and viola, and a founding member of the Two Rivers Community Orchestra and River Valley String Quartet.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2025 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$6,060
Other Funds Leveraged
$900
Direct expenses
$6,960
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

The number of Minnesotans who are able to participate in the arts increases. Quality, type and number of arts opportunities and groups/venues that offer them increases. Real or perceived barriers to arts participation and arts access are identified and addressed. New relationships are built with groups that are traditionally underserved by the arts. The plan for evaluation is to create and disperse surveys through a few different methods. We will create paper surveys that will be included with concert programs that audience members can fill out at the concert. We will also create online surveys through Google Forms that can be sent out to people on our email list. Links to these surveys will also be posted to our social media where interested parties can access them there. Additional surveys will be created and dispersed by email to ensemble members at the end of each concert cycle as well as at the end of the season to evaluate how the season went. Similarly, we will send out a final survey at the end of our season to people on our email list. All surveys will be given a deadline for completion and results will be collected after that. The board of directors will execute the evaluation plan by creating the surveys, dispersing them, and collecting and analyzing the results.

Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Project Manager
First Name
Scott
Last Name
Allen
Organization Name
Minnesota River Valley Wind Ensemble
Street Address
35 Thro Ct
City
Mankato
State
MN
Zip Code
56001
Phone
(507) 327-7216
Email
Minnrvwe@gmail.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
Location

105 22nd Avenue NE, Suite A
Waseca, MN 56093

Phone
Project Manager: Anna Pollock
507-833-8721
Email the Agency
Location

105 22nd Avenue NE, Suite A
Waseca, MN 56093

Phone
Project Manager: Anna Pollock
507-833-8721
Email the Agency