Arts Tour Minnesota

The Singers toured to two greater Minnesota locations, St Cloud and Brainerd, and partnered with community organizations to present choral concerts. The Singers rehearsed and performed side-to-side with students. Evaluation included individual discussions between the two parties which were reported to Artistic Director and tour coordinator. The Singers were available after the concerts for questions and comments. Ticket sellers at Brainerd asked each patron about how they knew about the concert. They collected email addresses increasing our visibility in the area. Artistic and administrative staff members traveled to each location prior to the tour, to meet in person with our partners in each community and do a site visit" to anticipate any production needs. The Singers worked with choirs in each location, rehearsing ad performing collaboratively. Our project partners were involved with scheduling and identifying space for rehearsals; serving as concert venues; providing limited volunteer support; consulting on the final repertoire choices; and assisting to a limited degree with event publicity. Partner choir members received complimentary tickets to distribute within the community, making use of existing social networks. 2: The Singers organization hopes to build on the musical and educational successes seen in both St Cloud and Brainerd. By teaming with Saint Cloud State University, The Singers presented a solo program while also standing with nearly 300 high school and collegiate singers in an educational outreach setting. Response from the Saint Cloud State University partners was very positive. In Brainerd, The Singers paired with the A Cappella Choir from Brainerd High School, and again this shoulder-to-shoulder experience was overwhelmingly positive. Brian Stubbs, conductor of the Brainerd High School choir claimed it to be one of the most exciting musical collaborations that the students have experienced. These verbal conversations after the events were the primary source of feedback on outcomes and presentations. The partner organizations for this project have been all been active and important supporters of choral music and artistic collaboration within their communities. The Singers' Founder and Artistic Director, Matthew Culloton, is originally from St Cloud and has many acquaintances in the local choral community, which helps to create a successful collaborative program with a lot of local support. Saint Cloud State University is in its fifth year of hosting the "Big Sing" festival, and because of this grant, our Artistic Director was able to serve as guest conductor this year, along with The Singers as guest artists. The Brainerd A Cappella Choir is a decades-old institution that has long been recognized as one of the strongest high school-level choral programs in the state."