Art Project Grant
Art Project Grant
Northern Lights Music Festival Opera Apprentice Program
Janeen Carey: vocalist, retired Hibbing Community College librarian and information media specialist; Adam Guggemos: graphic designer, art events promoter; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor of Music at University of Minnesota-Duluth, pianist; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, former Children's Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Quentin Stille: student liaison, College Music Director at KUMD.
Janeen Carey: vocalist, retired Hibbing Community College librarian and information media specialist; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor of music at University of Minnesota-Duluth, pianist; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, former Children's Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Quentin Stille: student liaison, College Music Director at KUMD.
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Drew Digby (218) 722-0952
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The Northern Lights Music Festival Opera Apprentice program serves as a bridge from post-graduate vocal studies to the professional world. In a three week period, a young singer can master an opera scene, creating a solid audition piece that is well-staged with minimal sets or props. The participant will receive daily training in stagecraft, diction (this year, Russian), voice lessons and other career coaching by highly experiences opera singers and directors. They will sing in the chorus of the mainstage production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin; some will receive comprimario roles and cover roles. At the conclusion of the program, participants will have had three public performances of their chosen opera scene. Northern Lights Music Festival will guarantee that goals are achieved by each participant: daily coaching, lessons, diction and participation in both opera scenes and mainstage production by the success of public performances. Each participant should leave the program with at least a rudimentary knowledge of Russian diction; will have successfully performed their opera scene in three different cities, and will have successfully completed their participation in Eugene Onegin. Achievement of the stated goals will be on display to the public in multiple opera and chamber music performances. A panel of faculty will also create a mock audition situation for the participants, with participants receiving written comments.
Participants in the Opera Apprentice program presented three performances of Opera Scenes in three locations: Ely, Grand Marais and Bemidji, with full costuming, light props, and a professional pianist devoted to this activity. The participants had heavy daily schedules for a period of four weeks, studying diction, their vocal scenes, private lessons, coaching and staging. This portion of the project was successful. What was less successful was audience attendance. We believe we need to do this project in the future, and need to find a better way to deliver these programs.
Other, local or private