Arts and Cultural Heritage

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$6,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Minnesota Valley Chorale
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
September 2020
End Date
May 2021
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Blue Earth
Brown
Dakota
Faribault
Hennepin
Kandiyohi
Le Sueur
Nicollet
Nobles
Olmsted
Ramsey
Sibley
Steele
Waseca
Watonwan
Blue Earth
Brown
Dakota
Faribault
Hennepin
Kandiyohi
Le Sueur
Nicollet
Nobles
Olmsted
Ramsey
Sibley
Steele
Waseca
Watonwan
Project Overview

Arts and Cultural Heritage

Project Details

They will have a virtual fall season with recorded tracks of the members singing and an online concert of the newly composed music. They will plan in-person or virtual options for the spring season. Funds will be used for salaries and scholarships.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Steve Davis: member of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota State University/Community Orchestra, volunteer for Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra and New Ulm Suzuki School of Music; Kristie Gaalswyk-Pomerenke: Martin County 4-H Coordinator, former Education Coordinator at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, and a board member for the Martin County Area Foundation and Fairmont Community Education; Diana Joseph: author and College Professor of Creative Writing and Humanities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, active with Open Arts Minnesota and LitReach; Teresa Konechne: interdisciplinary media artist, co-founder of Henderson CAN (Community. Art. Nature.) and founder of Wicked Questions, a non-profit about art and conversation on climate and change; Karen Krause: a visual artist, retired school counselor and art teacher, and a member and instructor at the Waseca Art Center; April Malphurs: glass artist and art teacher for community art camps in St. Peter and the Minnetonka Center for the Arts; Liz Miller: a visual artist and college Professor of Art at Minnesota State University, Mankato; Larry Pint: board member of the Minnesota Association of Community Theaters, member of American Association of Community Theater and New Prague Arts Council, and past board member for Curtain Call Theatre; Rita Rassbach: recent interim Executive Director for the Mankato Ballet Company and past board member of Merely Players Community Theater and Creative Play Place; Dana Sikkila: a visual artist and the Executive Director of the 410 Project Gallery, Mankato; Carol Soma: retired Language Arts teacher and volunteer with the Kee Civic Theatre; Bethany Steffl: Principal, music, art, and choir teacher at St. Raphael School, Springfield, Board Member of the Springfield Community Theater, and a jewelry artist; Ginny Walters: a literary artist and Associate Director of the Honors Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Steve Davis: member of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota State University/Community Orchestra, volunteer for Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra and New Ulm Suzuki School of Music; Kristie Gaalswyk-Pomerenke: Martin County 4-H Coordinator, former Education Coordinator at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, and a board member for the Martin County Area Foundation and Fairmont Community Education; Diana Joseph: author and College Professor of Creative Writing and Humanities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, active with Open Arts Minnesota and LitReach; Teresa Konechne: interdisciplinary media artist, co-founder of Henderson CAN (Community. Art. Nature.) and founder of Wicked Questions, a non-profit about art and conversation on climate and change; Karen Krause: a visual artist, retired school counselor and art teacher, and a member and instructor at the Waseca Art Center; April Malphurs: glass artist and art teacher for community art camps in St. Peter and the Minnetonka Center for the Arts; Liz Miller: a visual artist and college Professor of Art at Minnesota State University, Mankato; Larry Pint: board member of the Minnesota Association of Community Theaters, member of American Association of Community Theater and New Prague Arts Council, and past board member for Curtain Call Theatre; Rita Rassbach: recent interim Executive Director for the Mankato Ballet Company and past board member of Merely Players Community Theater and Creative Play Place; Dana Sikkila: a visual artist and the Executive Director of the 410 Project Gallery, Mankato; Carol Soma: retired Language Arts teacher and volunteer with the Kee Civic Theatre; Bethany Steffl: Principal, music, art, and choir teacher at St. Raphael School, Springfield, Board Member of the Springfield Community Theater, and a jewelry artist; Ginny Walters: a literary artist and Associate Director of the Honors Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2019 First Special Session, chapter 2, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$6,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$0
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

The number of Minnesotans who are able to participate in the arts increases. The quality, types and number of arts opportunities in our region, and the organizations or venues that offer them increases. Real or perceived barriers to arts participation and arts access are identified and addressed. We will distribute surveys at all of our concerts to gain audience support. At the end of the concert series, we will also survey our members to gain their feedback. Members awarded a scholarship will also be asked to send a thank you note about their experience. A board member will be responsible for carrying out these projects. To help with our survey data collection, we put a QR code in the concert programs for audience members to use so that they can scan and enter in their survey results electronically. We linked the survey to a Google Form which gives us a great amount of data collection and breakdowns to help better understand who are audience base is.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Because we did virtual concerts, the audience survey was provided in electronic format. We posted a link to the survey with the video. The survey has the same questions as on the paper format. Evaluation data indicates we had about 50% first-time audience members and audience members from all age groups, the quality of the virtual concerts was overwhelmingly excellent, most heard about the performance from social media posts, and we reached people in 6 different states and 2 international countries. The evaluation data supports the chorale publishing more concerts or parts of concerts on line to provide a rich, quality, musical experience to a broader audience.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved Proposed Outcomes
Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Recipient Board Members
Laura Harstad, Maria Kosovich, Sarah Leyrer, Jessica Matz, Meghan Poehler, Sara Traylor, Triah Zondervan
Project Manager
First Name
Sara
Last Name
Traylor
Organization Name
Minnesota Valley Chorale
Street Address
PO Box 34 ?
City
Mankato
State
MN
Zip Code
56002
Phone
(612) 251-8492
Email
minnesotavalleychorale@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