Schubert Club Competition Winners

Schubert Club Competition Winners: Caitlin Cisler

by Steve Staruch, Minnesota Public Radio

This year one of Minnesota's most important cultural institutions, the Schubert Club, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. A vital component of the organization's activities, the Schubert Club Scholarship Competition, is also observing a major birthday.

St. Paul, Minn. — In 1922 the scholarship competition got off to a modest, but significant start. Three winners in voice, piano and violin each received $150.

Eighty-five years later, there are 13 categories with prizes of $2,000 for the first place winner and $1,500 for second.

The preliminary round competition typically draws more than 250 students competing in 15 divisions, split up by age and instrumentation. The youngest competitors are in junior high. The oldest are graduate students, but there a few out of college.

On April 19, the final round of this year's competition took place at Macalester College. The first place winners will perform in recital Friday evening in the Luther Seminary chapel in St. Paul.

Five of the winners came by the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio. The fourth young musician is soprano Caitlin Cisler. She's a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She won first place in the advanced voice category. She sang the music of Richard Strauss and Handel, and talked with classical music host Steve Staruch.