Our 31stannual Keyboard Festival was held on April 26-27. Piano students of all ages and abilities from throughout central Minnesota were invited to prepare a piece for the festival and 95 students signed up to participate. Each student had a first round private audition with a judge, well-prepared students were then passed on to a second round audition. After the second round, the top scoring students were invited to play in an Honors Concert.

The students chosen to play in the Honors Concert were:  Bridget Catton, Brooke Catton, and James Gutierrez from St. Cloud; Sage Kortuem, Lily Puck, Silas Winrod, and Emeryson Hudalla from Long Prairie; Camryn Schmidt from Brainerd; Christopher Borash from Bowlus; Andrea Shaefer from Pierz; Jeff Erickson and Maggie Erickson from Sebeka; Collin Prom from Swanville; Elijah Rick, Annika Rick, and Quinn Rick from Browerville; and Ava Filippi, Hudson Filippi, Mason Wickstrom, Julia Vetsch, Michael Hanowski, Abigail Borash, Michael Vetsch, Abby Poser, Laura Verkuilen, Megan Borash, Kalli Sobania, and Elizabeth Becker, all from Little Falls.

All of the students who participated did an excellent job and thus demonstrated a bright future for music in central Minnesota!

The Keyboard Festival is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

St. Francis Music Center is a community school for the arts, located on the campus of the Franciscan Sisters in Little Falls. The center is open to the public and offers music lessons on all instruments.  For more information, please call (320)632-0637

We are proud to announce Tori Roe and Matthew Klos as the recipients of the 2013 Sister Justina Bieganek Music Scholarships. The scholarship was established in 2004 by family members, friends and fans of Sister Justina in honor of her 75th Anniversary as a Franciscan Sister.  Sister Justina worked at St. Francis Music Center since its start in 1979. She passed away last summer at the age of 100, but her spirit of joy and peace still fill the halls of the Music Center and she is remembered with love and respect by the students, staff and faculty.

Tori Roe is in 11th grade at Long Prairie Grey Eagle High School.  She has studied voice, piano and French horn at the Music Center and is just beginning guitar lessons.  At school, Tori participates in band, choir, drama club, tennis, softball, track and dance.  She is on the A Honor Roll and is a member of the National Honor Society.  She also enjoys reading, writing, drawing and coloring books!  In the future Tori hopes to attend college on the east coast, have a successful career perhaps as a musical performer, and live in another county for a while.  Tori is the daughter of Charlotte and Alan Roe of Long Prairie. She is a student of Dorothy Koopmann, Kevin Stueven and Greg Langlois at the Music Center.

Matthew Klos is a senior at Little Falls Community High School. Matt has taken piano lessons at the Music Center for 10 years; he also plays trumpet and clarinet. He is in the Wind Ensemble at the high school, which includes playing in the marching band and pep band. He also enjoys drawing and painting, spending time with friends, visiting family, occasionally reading classic novels, and studying or reading about math and science. Matt plans are to study actuarial science, with a focus in mathematics, as well as the Chinese language, at Drake University in Iowa. From there he would like to become a fully accredited actuary.  He also plans to continue pursuing his interests in art and piano throughout and beyond his years at college. Matt is the son of David and Ann Klos of Little Falls. He originally studied under Mary Rohrer at the Music Center and is now a student of Dr. Ed Turley.

Matt and Tori were chosen for this award, which is the highest scholarship honor awarded at the Music Center, based on their many musical achievements, and also for their love of music and for the hours that they dedicate to practicing.  Both students are responsible, generous and truly exceptional young people.

St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls, recently held their auditions for the 2013 Laura Jane Musser Merit Scholarships.  Thirty-five students were nominated by their teachers to participate in the auditions. Each student performed two contrasting pieces for an independent judge. Students were judged on their ability at their level of study, so students of all ages were able to compete.

Ten exceptional students were awarded a $100 scholarship to be used towards their 2012-2013 tuition. These students are: Kayla Bense from Long Prairie; Shawn Decker and Talitha Decker from Motley; Madeleine Fussy of Bowlus; Elijah Rick, Quinn Rick and Anna Stevens from Browerville; Zach Sobania of Little Falls; Alex Wiggers from Pierz; and Cheyenne Wuebkers of Freeport.

Also awarded were three Franciscan Scholarships to:  Anika Rick and Greta Rick from Browerville; and Kalli Sobania from Little Falls.

The judges were impressed by all the students that auditioned. The auditions are open to all instruments. This year piano, violin, guitar, cello, flute and voice students participated.

The Merit Scholarship Program is funded by the Laura Jane Musser Trust for the purpose of rewarding and assisting highly dedicated and talented music students to continue their studies.

St. Francis Music Center is a community school for the arts located on the campus of the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. For more information contact (320)632-0637 

Aspen Anderson is this year’s recipient of the Lyseng Music Scholarship.

Aspen studies both violin and piano here at St. Francis Music Center. Aspen has played piano for ten years and violin for almost seven years. She participates in the Con Brio and Sforzando String Orchestras and studies under Celo V’ec and Pat Boser.

Aspen is in the eighth grade at Swanville Junior High School. She plays trumpet in the junior high band and dances for the Long Prairie Just for Kix program. In her free time she enjoys reading and listening to music. She has received several other scholarships for her musical abilities. In the Aspen hopes to play piano and violin professionally and teach private lessons.

Aspen was nominated for this award by her teachers for her musicality and her dedication to her musical studies. She is the daughter of Mark and Kristi Anderson of Swanville.
St. Francis Music Center is a community school for the arts located on the campus of the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls.

Scholarship Background:
In 2004, Vicki and Greg Spofford established a scholarship at St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls, in honor of Vicki’s parents, Arley and Naomi Lyseng. Both of the Lyseng’s were lifetime music educators, touching the lives of thousands of children. To continue the legacy, the Spofford family made a donation to establish this annual scholarship.

The Five Wings Arts Council, in partnership with the St Francis Music Center of Little Falls, announces the opening of the UROCK Poster Exhibit at the Five Wings Gallery, located at 121 4th Street, Staples, MN. The unique exhibit features the artwork created to promote the performances of the UROCK bands, a program of St Francis Music Center.  The exhibit will remain open to the public through February 28th.

A reception to honor the artists who have inspired, and those who created, the artwork will be held on Sunday, January 13, 2013, from 2:00-4:00 at the Five Wings Gallery. Those attending the reception will be able to view the artwork, meet the artists, hear a UROCK band, and enjoy snacks and beverages. There is no admission fee for the reception

Mark Turner, Five Wings Arts Council Executive Director, said, “We are excited to share these posters and the story of the innovative program that inspired them.” UROCK is a summer music camp for young people who have always dreamed of being in a band.  Offered by St Francis Music Center, Little Falls, MN, UROCK students work closely with professional musicians to learn the basics of being in a band; including musicianship, business skills, technical mastery, and how to perform together and make the music work. 

St Francis Music Center is a community school for the arts sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls (MN), serving the region since 1979, providing private and group classes, as well as performing opportunities for over 500 people each year. Over 5000 people from throughout the region benefit as audience members from their concerts, recitals, and festivals each year. For further information about UROCK or other St Francis Music Center programs contact (320) 632-0637. 

The Five Wings Arts Council is one of eleven regional arts councils in Minnesota, whose mission is to encourage and promote arts creation, appreciation, and education through grant programs and technical assistance to enhance the quality of life for Minnesota residents in Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena Counties.  Funding for this exhibit and the UROCK program comes from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota through the Five Wings Arts Council.

For more information call 1-877-654-2166 or email vicki.fwac@arvig.net.

St. Francis Community Chorale will begin rehearsals on Thursday, January 17, 7 p.m., at St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls. The choir welcomes all adults who love to sing, there is no charge to participate, only a willingness to sing and have a good time. You do not have to take lessons at the Music Center to participate or be associated with the Franciscan Sisters, everyone is welcome to join.

The St. Francis Community Chorale is under the direction of Barb Stumpf. The chorale will be presenting a Spring Chorale Concert on April 21 at 2 p.m. The concert will feature a mixture of styles of music, sure to please everyone!

All adults are welcome to join the chorale; there are no auditions. Rehearsals are Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Music Center.  For more information, please contact the Music Center at (320)632-0637. You may also call the directors Barb Stumpf at 632-8372 or Vicki Spofford at 632-2360.

St. Francis Music Center is presenting the women’s singing group, Sestri, in concert on July 15 at 7 p.m. in the Sacred Heart Chapel at the campus of the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. 

Sestri is a women’s performing group that sings the folk songs of Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Russia, and the Ukraine.  The lyrical songs tell stories of love, work, war, country life and sorrow.  The group strives to maintain the original mode of the music, which often includes dissonant harmonies, unusual rhythms, and distinctive vocal qualities which make Slavic music unique and exciting for so many listeners.

Celo V’ec, founder and conductor of Sestri, also started the world famous Yale Slavic Chorus in 1969, the first year of undergraduate co-education at Yale.  This choir was the first all women’s group on the Yale Campus. Celo was then a music major in Yale College and a member of the all-male Yale Russian Chorus. In 2009, the Chorus celebrated their 40th anniversary with a reunion concert that drew alumnae from all across the globe.  After attending this reunion, Celo was inspired to start a local group.  He received an individual artist grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and thus Sestri (meaning “sisters”) began.

The concert will feature a wide variety of songs.  Each song will have an introduction so the audience will get a feeling of the story of each song.  The concert is free and open to the public.

On Monday, May 21, from 10:30 am to 9 p.m., treat yourself to lunch or supper at Noodles & Co. in St. Cloud, 211 5th Ave. S., (on Division Street) and be sure to mention "St. Francis Music Center" or "Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls." They will forward the sales as a donation to St. Francis Music Center. 

St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls, is proud to announce that Madeline Wright, daughter of Jim and Alice Wright, Little Falls, was recently awarded the 2012 Guy Christiansen Music Scholarship.

In 2004 Vicki and Greg Spofford established a scholarship at St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls, in honor of Vicki’s parents, Arley and Naomi Lyseng. 

Sam Vorderbruggen taught drums and guitar at St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls, during the 2010-2011 school year but passed away on June 23, 2011. Music was Sam’s passion. He was a great musician, always learning, always playing,

St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls, is proud to announce Quinn Rick and Colin Welch as recipients of the 2012 Sister Justina Bieganek Music Scholarships.

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