Congratulations to the five Minnesota Varsity Showcase Artists who have been chosen to perform, and the two Showcase Composers who have been selected to have their works premiered, in a live broadcast concert at the Fitzgerald Theater!

Showcase Round Artists

Hartman-Warren-Doyle Trio: Derek Hartman/pno; Luther Warren/vln; Nora Doyle/cello, Piano/vln/cello Trio
The Luna String Quartet: Anna Humphrey/vln; Emma Richman, vln; Alexandra Sophocleus/vla; Nora Doyle/cello, String Quartet
Eric Sargent, Voice
Kristina Butler, Voice (Audience vote winner)
Megan Ruan, Piano

Showcase Composers

Austin Kraft Savage Arabesque in A Minor
Grant Luhmann Lino Lakes Soliloquy

Listen to the audio and see pictures from the live concert at the Fitzgerald Theater.

Showcase Honorable Mentions

Michael Davis, piano
Emily Johnson, marimba

Thanks to American Composers Forum for partnering with us on the new Composition category.

Educational Sponsor Scholarships

Classical MPR is pleased to welcome five Educational Sponsors to present a special scholarship offer to the Minnesota Varsity Featured Round Artists. Luther College, Concordia College, Saint John's University, and College of Saint Benedict will present $4,000 for four years, to each Featured Round musician to attend their school. We're grateful for the commitment these institutions of higher education make to our Minnesota Varsity musicians!

Important Dates

10/22/12
Submissions Open

1/9/13
Submissions Due by 11:59 p.m.

2/5/2013
Featured Round Announcement

3/4/2013 - 3/22/2013
Featured Round On-Air

3/18/2013 - 3/24/2013
Online Audience Voting

3/29/2013
Showcase Round Judging

4/2/2013
Showcase Round Announcement

4/28/2013 at 5 p.m.
Fitzgerald Theater Showcase

Archive

Peruse the submissions from last year's Minnesota Varsity project, including the Featured and Showcase Round winners.

More Information

Visit the press release for media contacts. Please send questions or comments to varsity@mpr.org.

Recap of 2012

Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now? spotlights Minnesota Varsity Featured and Showcase Artists from 2011 and 2012! It's been fun catching up with them to ask what they're doing now and what they remember and value most about their Minnesota Varsity experience. We're pleased to share their inspiring stories with you, and we're proud of every student across the state who's entered Minnesota Varsity and shared their music-making with us and with their friends, families, and communities.

  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Bea Grant
    Bea Grant is from a family of pianists, who started piano lessons with her mother when she was two. Now a student of Dr. Joseph Zins in St. Paul, she enjoys performing in chamber ensembles and as a featured soloist with Twin Cities orchestras.November 30, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Brayden Drevlow
    Pianist Brayden Drevlow has wasted no time launching a career, having laid the groundwork well before his recent graduation from Concordia College. The 2013 Minnesota Varsity Featured Artist has a studio of more than 20 private piano students in Fargo, N.D. and enjoys performing nationally and internationally.November 29, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Maximus Gurath
    Sioux Falls native Maximus Gurath, who's been studying cello since he was 4 and a half, told us in 2018 that music dominates his life and that "the cello will take me wherever it takes me." By now it's taken the Minnesota Varsity Showcase Artist to Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, where he is preparing for a career in cello performance.November 22, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Karen Baumgartner
    Back in the fall of 2010, flutist Karen Baumgartner was Minnesota Varsity's very first entrant. Karen is now a professional musician and flute instructor, and she's shared with us her thoughtful and inspiring essay about how her early striving for a career in music has evolved over the years to encompass a wider and more meaningful world view.November 14, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Brett Drevlow
    Brett Drevlow is from a musical family, and three of his siblings are also former Minnesota Varsity Featured Artists. In Minnesota Varsity's inaugural season (2011), Brett accompanied his sister Brianna in the first movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat. His instrument of concentration, however, was the double bass.November 8, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Lauren Senden
    Lauren Senden may have been admonished in second grade for humming in class, but even at that early age she knew the vocal arts were her passion. Trained in both classical and musical theatre since childhood, her sights are set on a professional singing career.November 1, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Simon Blaine-Sauer
    Simon Blaine-Sauer played Chopin's Polonaise Op. 26 No. 1 for piano in the 2012 Showcase Concert and went on tour with other Showcase Artists that year. He's now working in medical research, and piano is still part of his life.October 25, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? Elizabeth Kleiber
    Flutist Elizabeth Kleiber from Hudson, Wisc. was a Minnesota Varsity 2017 Featured Artist and a 2019 Showcase Artist. Trained in dance and flute from an early age, she's chosen to follow a music career path.October 21, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - John Kuntz
    Eagan, Minn. native John Kuntz, a 2015 Minnesota Varsity Showcase Composer, has moved to Memphis for a Master's degree in composition.October 11, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Ava Huebner
    Ava Huebner from St. Cloud, Minn., was a Minnesota Varsity 2014 Showcase Composer. She recently got in touch with Classical MPR to share her latest news.October 4, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Henry Johnston
    Henry Johnston from St. Paul, Minn. was a Minnesota Varsity 2011 Showcase Artist. He recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share his latest news.September 27, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity alumnus Nygel Witherspoon wins Sphinx competition
    Cellist Nygel Witherspoon, a 2017 Minnesota Varsity Showcase Artist, took first place in the 22nd Annual Sphinx Junior Division Honors Concert held Friday in Detroit's Fischer Music Center.February 5, 2019
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Madeline Sheard
    Minnesota Varsity cellist Madeline Sheard stepped from the 2017 Showcase Concert stage into an exciting year of performances and travel that didn't stop with her recent graduation from Maple Grove Sr. High School. We caught up with her just before she began her first year at the University of Southern California.November 2, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Emma Taggart
    In just over a year since being named a Minnesota Varsity Showcase Artist, pianist Emma Taggart's performing schedule has been filling up with high-profile performances and appearances.October 26, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Seamus Flynn
    Composer Seamus Hubbard Flynn is currently studying music at Brown University in Rhode Island, but looks back fondly at his Minnesota roots.October 19, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Austin Wahl
    Since being chosen as a Showcase Artist in our first season of Minnesota Varsity, guitarist and Minneapolis native Austin Wahl has earned two degrees, and is currently two years into earning a third -- in addition to attending a number of guitar festivals and competitions.October 12, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Lauren Senden
    Lauren Senden from Mankato, Minn. was a Minnesota Varsity 2018 Featured Artist. She recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share her latest news.October 5, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Joshua Weinberg
    Joshua Weinberg from St. Peter, Minn. was a Minnesota Varsity 2011 Showcase Artist. He recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share his latest news.September 28, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity: Where Are They Now? - Cynthia Heck
    Cynthia Heck from Maple Grove, Minn. was a Minnesota Varsity 2015 Featured Composer. She recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share her latest news.September 21, 2018
  • Minnesota Varsity's Nygel Witherspoon reaches new heights
    Cellist Nygel Witherspoon has enjoyed more success since his performance last spring at the Minnesota Varsity Showcase Concert, including an appearance with the Minnesota Orchestra and a front-page newspaper profile.December 8, 2017

Minnesota Varsity is supported, in part, by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of Minnesota, and by the generosity of these foundations and individuals:

The Charles H. Clay Family Charitable Trust
Margaret H. and James E. Kelley Foundation
Andy Kiorpes
Robert Kriel and Linda Krach
Ann Newhall and Rick Schleuss
Steve Otto
Paul and Mary Reyelts
Robin Saunders Ryan
Kay Savik and Joe Tashjian
Irma Wyman


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