Arts Experiences

Ross Anderson: Anderson performs in southwest Minnesota on clarinet and saxophone with a jazz duo, the Route 68 big band and is also principal clarinet with the Southwest Minnesota Orchestra. He has served as a grant review panelist for the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council and received grants from SMAC in 2013 (to record a CD) and 2006. He has been an adjunct instructor of jazz improv at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Anderson attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School where he learned the basics of jazz improvisation. He has a BA from the University of Minnesota in history.; Noreen Buhmann: Buhmann has had a rich career serving people and the planet in human service nonprofit, higher education, natural resources, and disability law. Her work has focused on community development including strategic planning, business development and revenue generation, creating functional service delivery systems, public relations, board development, donor cultivation and philanthropy, grants management, and intentional inclusion of previously unrepresented or underrepresented people throughout Minnesota. Buhmann has served on formal boards, planning commissions, advisory committees, and created informal groups to address community needs related to access, participation, gaps in service, or cultural representation in community. In addition to participating in or leading countless workshops, conferences, and public education offerings, Buhmann?s education includes a master's degree in education leadership with combined study in curriculum and instruction. ; Judith Kaper: Kaper is originally from southern Michigan. She moved to the Twin Cities to attend Concordia University, where she graduated with a degree in education and a minor in theater/communication. She has worked for the State of Minnesota for nearly ten years as an HRIS Analyst. Kaper is a member of the Friends of the Library, the Friends of the Minnesota State Fair, and supports her community by serving on the Rosefest Parade Committee.; Anna Lehner: Lehner is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersections of art and structural geology. In 2019, Lehner received a MA/MFA in glass at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a graduate associate to the Center for Culture, History, and Environment within the Nelson Institute. In 2016, Lehner received a BFA in 3D fine art and a BA in art history from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Lehner has received multiple awards including a Fulbright Graduate Research Award and has been included in professional publications such as New Glass Review of the Corning Museum of Glass. Currently, Lehner is the executive director at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts a glass arts nonprofit.; Marianne Manzler: Manzler is a writer-teacher, former Fulbright scholar, and former AmeriCorps member. Her essay "On the Making of a Mumu" was a notable mention in Best American Essays 2022. She graduated with a BA in English literature from The Ohio State University and a MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington. She is the interim education manager at the Loft Literary Center.