Operating Support

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$32,106
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
July 2022
End Date
June 2023
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Dodge
Faribault
Fillmore
Freeborn
Goodhue
Houston
Mower
Olmsted
Rice
Steele
Wabasha
Waseca
Winona
Dodge
Faribault
Fillmore
Freeborn
Goodhue
Houston
Mower
Olmsted
Rice
Steele
Wabasha
Waseca
Winona
Project Overview

Operating Support

Project Details

The mission of Choral Arts Ensemble is to inspire, educate, and enrich the community at large through outstanding choral performance.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Uri Camarena: business consultant; Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Emily Galusha: arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner: vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Ken Martin, political strategist and campaign manager; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Denver Air, adjunct college faculty; Nichole Melton-Mitchell: healthcare administrator; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former arts administrator; Christina Woods: executive director, Duluth Art Institute

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Lisa Bergh: Bergh is a visual artist; she holds a BFA from the University of Arizona and an MFA from San Jose State University. In addition to her active studio practice, she is the cofounder of The Traveling Museum, works as an advocate for the rural arts and culture movement, and currently is serving as an art instructor at Ridgewater College on the Hutchinson Campus.; Jonathan Carter: Carter is director of IT business relationship management for the Harmon business unit of Apogee Enterprises. Previously, Carter had a long career with General Mills, spanning finance, sales, marketing, information systems, and other areas. A former board chair for the Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir, he is an active executive board member of the Monitors Club, supporting the educational, political, economic, and social well-being of the Twin Cities African American community. Carter holds a BS in computer science from Washington University (Saint Louis); an MS in computer science from Stanford University; and an MBA in finance and international business from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.; Dorothy Goldie: Goldie is a lifelong enthusiast and supporter of the arts in Minnesota. For seven years she was the executive director of Minnesota Center for Book Arts and, since 2010, has lead Saint Paul Academy and Summit School?s fundraising efforts. From 2018 to 2021, Goldie chaired the Franconia Sculpture Park board and led the organization through a crisis and a search for a new leader.; Jonathan Lewis: Lewis is the executive director of Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, a community orchestra that plays free concerts in the Twin Cities, and plays percussion in it. Lewis is the board president of Source Song Festival, a Minnesota nonprofit that puts on a week long art song festival for student composers, singers, and collaborative pianists. Lewis was the executive director of Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies and Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, and served on the board of One Voice Mixed Chorus. He has a BA from St. Olaf College and a JD from Cornell Law School.; Mary Ragnow Campion: Ragnow is curator of the James Ford Bell Library, University of Minnesota, for which she preserves and promotes the book arts of past centuries. An accountant in a previous life, she is a past treasurer and board member of Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and has supported the area theater scene as board member and actor. She is the coauthor of Tulips, Chocolate & Silk, a finalist for a 2020 MN Book Award.; Serenity Schoonover: A staff writer for Split Rock Review, Schoonover's writing has aired on NPR, and appeared in NewPages, Women's Independent Press, and The Bookends Review, among others. She also is a juried metalsmith, and her work has been featured on the front page of Etsy. Since 2018, she has been the recipient of five Arrowhead Regional Art Council (ARAC) grants, served on multiple ARAC grant panels, as well as serving as a Minnesota State Arts Board grant reviewer in 2020. Schoonover has a BA and MA in history education.; Jamie Schwaba: Schwaba is currently the director of development at the Reading Center/ Dyslexia Institute of MN, but prior to holding this position she was the managing director of the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts in Winona for seven years. She holds a MS in adult and continuing education, BA in theater arts, and she performed professionally in the Milwaukee area for eight years.; Haile Tegegne: Tegegne is the founder and executive director for East African Empowerment Center where we advocates for East African nonprofit organizations and community members and connects them with resources available to them. Tegegne serves as a consultant for central empowerment organizations. He graduated from Hamline University with a master's degree in public administration and nonprofit management.; Wenli Tesar: Chen has lived and worked in Saint Paul since 2015, after relocating from Taiwan. She holds a MDes in photography from The Glasgow School of Art, UK; and a BA in Russian from Tamkang University, Taiwan. She has taught graphic design, art photography, and 2-D foundation at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (2015-2020). She is a visual artist as well as a designer who works with artist books, photography, and installation. Chen has exhibited internationally in the UK, Singapore, USA, Canada, and Taiwan. She was a resident artist at Lanesboro Arts in August 2021.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2021, First Special Session, chapter 1, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$32,106
Other Funds Leveraged
$353,251
Direct expenses
$353,251
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

CAE will give voice to community concerns, challenges and successes via collaboration w/other groups-possible themes include mental health and education. CAE and its partner organizations will collect impact results after each collaborative concert. Examples: new or increased donations, volunteers, names added to mailing lists, or social media followers. 2: CAE's Board, Singers, and primary stakeholders will review and redefine (if and as needed) CAE's long-term artistic vision, role and viability in SE Minnesota. CAE will complete phases one and two of the Chorus America outline for an Artistic Director's (AD) planned retirement. This work prepares CAE to finance a search, recruit and hire a new AD by FYE 2024.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Choral Arts Ensemble's Wisdom of Nature concert highlighted Rochester's Sustainable Community Program and twelve groups preserving nature in SE Minnesota. All groups gathered new contact information for their email outreach or social media channels, and 26 new volunteers were recruited. Quarry Hill Nature Center reported over 30 concertgoers attended their 50th Anniversary celebration two weeks later. 2: Choral Arts Ensemble's primary stakeholders reaffirmed the group's mission statement and are prepared to find and install a new Artistic Director in 2024. Following meetings with stakeholders, the transition team was formed and has completed the steps needed for the search team to post-the Artistic Director's position, gather and review applications, interview and select a new AD in early 2024.

Source of Additional Funds

Other, local or private

Recipient Board Members
Holly Ebel, Ron Elcombe, Andrew Good, Alan Hansen, Judy Hickey, Ilaya Hopkins, Dan Kutzke, Beth Nienow, Alyssa Quiggle, Marilyn Riederer, Dean Stenehjem, Eric Stinson, Riley Thompsen, Sarah Vinzant, Ryan Williams
Project Manager
First Name
Karen
Last Name
Sessler
Organization Name
Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester
Street Address
1001 14th St NW Ste 900
City
Rochester
State
MN
Zip Code
55901
Phone
(507) 252-8427
Email
ExecDir@choralartsensemble.org
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