Creative Support for Individuals-Round 1

Amy Berglund: Berglund is the founder and artistic director of Iceformance?a culturally minded professional ice performance troupe unique to the local arts scene. She is currently a marketing director for several companies in the Twin Cities. She graduated from Metropolitan State University with a BS in marketing and was recently accepted to the University of Denver for a master?s degree in arts and culture management. Berglund has a long-standing membership with the United States Figure Skating Association and is consistently selected to volunteer for annual athlete assessments while earning multiple credentials as a skater and coach.; Matthew George: George is the John Ireland Distinguished Professor of music, director of bands, and orchestra at the University of St. Thomas. He is also the artistic director and conductor of Grand Symphonic Winds, a nonprofit performing ensemble in the Twin Cities. George received a doctorate of musical arts degree from the University of North Texas (Denton, TX) with other degrees from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX) and Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY). George is active as a conductor and clinician/lecturer taking him across the U. S. and 30 other countries. His credits of commissioned works by prolific international composers number more than 90.; Katharine Horowitz: Horowitz is a theatrical sound designer, composer, and teaching artist. She has designed critically acclaimed and award winning shows for the Guthrie Theater, Jungle Theater, History Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Pillsbury House Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Second City Theatricals, and many others. She is a professional member of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association and a 2017 McKnight Theater Artist Fellowship at the Playwrights' Center.; Stephen Kingsbury: Kingsbury is a dynamic and exciting conductor and educator who is dedicated to inspiring students and audiences alike through impassioned performances and a deep commitment to choral excellence. Kingsbury serves as director of choral activities and professor of music at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Kingsbury holds both a BA in music teaching and a MA in teaching degree from the University of New Hampshire, as well as a MA of music performance degree in conducting from Boston University, and a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting and literature from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, IL).; Marjie Laizure: Laizure is a contemporary realist painter who has exhibited frequently in local juried, group, and solo shows. In 2017, she received a juror's award of excellence from the Carnegie Art Center?s annual juried exhibition. She was awarded an Artist Career Development Grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council in both 2017 and 2019. Laizure is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Mankato with a BS in art education and a MS in experiential education. She retired in 2016 from teaching art in the Mankato school district and is now a substitute teacher and frequent art show judge.; Anna Ostendorf: Ostendorf is the executive director of ArtReach in Red Wing. At ArtReach, she handles administrative tasks including supporting teaching artists to deliver visual arts programming and teaches classes in visual arts. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in religious studies and cultural anthropology. She has served on the board of the Friends of the Sheldon Theatre and is a member of the advisory panel for Red Wing Community Education and Recreation.; Rebecca Petersen is the director of development for West Central Initiative. She was previously the executive director of A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls, and partnered with Artspace Projects to renovate the Kaddatz Hotel. She also was executive director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra for seven consecutive seasons. Petersen performs with Fargo Moorhead Symphony, Fargo Moorhead Opera, NDSU Baroque, Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Itasca Symphony Orchestra, and Fergus Falls Civic Orchestra. Petersen has a BA in music from the University of Vermont (Burlington, VT). She currently serves on the board of Pioneer Public Television and Kaddatz Galleries. Sharaya Schwardt is an artist trained in traditional painting techniques. She studied at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco for two years before completing her BA in art history at the University of Minnesota in 2018. In 2014 she was recognized for her artistic talent by the National Endowment for the Arts, National YoungArts program. She was also recognized for her adversity through the Horatio Alger Association Scholarship program in 2013. Her career goals are to advance education in the arts and to show her personal work. She plans to pursue her MED in teaching in 2022.