FMC Endowment Fund Update

Number of scholarships and grants awarded: 552

Dollar Amount Awarded: $319,649

The calendar year of 2022 has a special significance for the FMC Endowment Fund.  It was in 1997 that the first scholarships were awarded for ten members to attend Summer Dialogue.  Since those first awards were presented twenty-five years ago, a total of 552 ACDA-MN members, students, and programs, have received $319,649 in financial support as follows:

• Summer Dialogue Scholarships — 180
• Student Conductor Workshop Scholarships — 75
• Graduate Study Scholarships — 78
• Alice T. Larsen Memorial Scholarships — 9
• ACDA Regional & National Conference Scholarships — 89
• World Symposium on Choral Music Scholarships — 5
• Honor Choir Needs-Based Scholarships — 108
• Next Direction HS Student Leadership Scholarships — 5
• State Conference Transportation Grants — 3

In addition to this scholarship program, the FMC Endowment Fund also supports the ACDA-MN general budget with administrative salary support, directly reducing Summer Dialogue and State Conference registration fees for its members.

After twenty-five years, we remain committed more than ever to support and nurture a diverse and vibrant community of talented choral musicians to pursue their dreams, regardless of financial capacity.  Our success is only possible with the help of exceptional members, friends, and supporters like you.

We are honored and humbled to continue our partnership with you in the year ahead, to ensure that qualified and deserving members and students always have the financial help needed to pursue their professional goals in choral music education and performance.

2022 State Honor Choir Scholarship Recipients @ $1,604

• 9-10:      7 scholarships
• 4-5-6:   4 scholarships
• 7-8:      10 scholarships

Special Note:  ALL families and students who applied were awarded honor choir scholarships!

2022 FMC Graduate Scholarships @ $12,000

• Peter Fourniea, University of St. Thomas (MA)
• John Habermann, Boston University (DME)
• Emma Hohulin, University of Kansas (MME)
• Emma Jirele, University of St. Thomas (MA)
• Nicholas Larson, Concordia College (MM)
• Shawn Neisen, North Dakota State University (MM)

2022 Alice T. Larsen Memorial Scholarship @ $3,000

• Nicole Lambrecht, Liberty University (DME)
• Mary Kate Maney, University of St. Thomas (MA)
• Hana Trump, North Dakota State University (MM)

Special Note:  ALL members who applied were awarded graduate study scholarships!

2022 Summer Dialogue Student Conductor Scholarships @ $2,060

Participating colleges/universities, students, and advisors are:

• Augsburg University: Ashley Litzinger — Kristina Boerger
• Bemidji State University: Paul Papenfuss — Dwight Jilek
• College of St. Benedict/Saint John’s University: Alyssa Wedin — Bradley Miller
• Concordia College-Moorhead: Levi Kovic — Michael Culloton
• Concordia University-St. Paul: Kayla Gundermann — David Mennicke
• Gustavus Adolphus College: Eli McMahon — Brandon Dean
• St. Olaf College: Madeline Smoot — Anton Armstrong
• University of Minnesota-Duluth: Emma Downing — Richard Robbins
• University of Minnesota-Morris: Drew Erickson — Laura Wiebe

Our Future…Our Opportunity

Authored by Mary Kay Geston and Bruce W. Becker

The next project on the immediate horizon was the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of ACDA of Minnesota. A joint task force of ACDA-MN leadership and FMC Committee members led by Festival Coordinator Mary Kay Geston, organized a celebration worthy of the special significance of this milestone occasion. A series of anniversary events and concert performances were observed throughout the months of 2011 and 2012, with a grand finale weekend of special performances held on November 16-18, 2012. Following the event, a check of $50,000 representing anniversary proceeds was presented to the FMC Endowment Fund.

In November 2022, a special commemorative concert will celebrate the 151st birth anniversary of F. Melius Christiansen. Six choirs representing the Lutheran choral tradition will perform at two concerts located at Orchestra Hall on Sunday, November 20, 2022. The choirs are: The Augsburg Choir, The Concordia Choir-Moorhead, Christus Chorus of Concordia University-St. Paul, The Gustavus Choir, St. Olaf Choir, and National Lutheran Choir. All choirs will combine forces and perform a commissioned work entitled “Home” composed and conducted by Concordia Choir conductor-emeritus Rene Clausen. Closing the performance will be all choirs singing “Beautiful Savior”. Proceeds of this historic celebration will be allocated to both new and ongoing programming sponsored by the ACDA-MN Diversity Initiatives Committee.

The tireless efforts and dedication of the endowment committee members has made it possible for ACDA of Minnesota to provide for the “vibrant future for exemplary choral music” that all choral professionals desire. They are owed a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid.

Thanks-A-Million FMC Donors!

We thank the following individual and corporate donors who contributed to the FMC Endowment Fund during January-April 2022:

Gifts to the F. Melius Christiansen Endowment Fund

Acknowledge a mentor, colleague, relative or friend, by donating to the FMC Endowment Fund. Your donations, in ANY amount, are welcomed at ANY time.

Your gift to the F. Melius Christiansen Endowment Fund supports choral music excellence in Minnesota today and in the future. ACDA of Minnesota is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and all gifts are tax-deductible.

For more information or to make an on-line contribution by credit card, click the following link:

https://www.givemn.org/organization/American-Choral-Directors-Association-Of-Minnesota-And-Its-F-Melius-Christiansen-Endowment-Fund

Or mail your contribution to:

FMC Endowment Fund
Bruce W. Becker
ACDA-MN Executive Director
13288 Downey Trail
Apple Valley, MN 55124
execdirector@acda-mn.org

Now more than ever, your support will help sustain our scholarship program and support the ACDA-MN general budget, thereby reducing fees for Summer Dialogue and State Conference registrants.

We greatly appreciate your ongoing generosity and support. Thank you!

ACDA-MN leadership, overseeing the FMC Endowment Fund and the Alice T. Larsen Memorial Scholarship Fund, annually advises our investment management firm to adopt selective investment strategies that utilize socially conscious investment options that focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria.

Members of the FMC Endowment Fund Committee:

FMC Endowment Fund Emeritus Members:

FMC Advisory Board Members: