Arts Tour Minnesota

1. I am a native Minnesotan who has toured all over the globe and yet, I have not played in many communities in Minnesota. I do not expect people from Austin or Braham or Duluth to drive to the Twin Cities to hear me perform. I could not accomplish my dream of sharing my music across Minnesota without the funding of the legacy grant, to reach people who are much too far from the metro to hear me play. The grant allowed me to deliver the music to the communities and, through my various outreach programs. 2. The evaluation forms - I have 331 evaluation forms from every community that we visited. A statistical breakdown of the responses is overwhelmingly positive. 2: I asked our audiences if they had ever heard me before. The percentage of new listeners created by the Legacy grant is approximately 65% according to those evaluation forms. 3. It was important for me to find presenting partners who had an interest in my music and what my original music, arrangements of traditional Christmas music and my story with focal dystonia had to offer – a high-quality arts experience along with an inspirational and motivational message in regards to overcoming hidden handicaps and/or obstacles. While seeking out presenting partners, I and my booking agent, made sure to connect with partners who had access to venues that were appropriate for a fine arts listening environment. The venues were therefore equipped with appropriate lighting and PA systems, along with handicap accessibility and a staff of employees or volunteers who were able to help in the production of a fine arts performance. Particularly, we sought out communities that continue to have a music education program in their school system. This allowed me to connect with those school districts via arts learning programs in conjunction with the public performances. 4. I looked for communities that I've never had an opportunity. Through the Legacy grant, I believe I have created a footprint to return successfully to those communities because of our performance.