McKnight Fellowships
About the McKnight Fellowships for Musicians
With the generous support of the McKnight Foundation, MacPhail awards four $25,000 fellowships to outstanding and distinctive mid-career solo artists or small ensembles/bands. A McKnight Musician Fellowship can help an artist set aside periods of time for study, reflection, experimentation, and exploration; take advantage of an opportunity; or work on a new project. Ensembles/bands that are recognized as finalists and/or fellowship recipients will split awards between members; individual ensemble/band members will not each receive the full award amount. Awards are subject to state and federal income tax guidelines.
A four-member panel consisting of experienced and well-respected music professionals selects the McKnight Musician Fellows. The panel members are performing musicians, producers, composers, directors, and educators with an appreciation for and knowledge of a diverse range of musical styles and genres. All panelists are from outside the state of Minnesota. Panelists, insofar as possible, represent a diversity of age, ethnicity, gender and geography.
The McKnight Musician Fellowship panelists remain anonymous during the selection process.
Applicants are evaluated and selected based on the quality of their work as evidenced in submitted materials, most importantly work samples. Distinctive musical voice, exceptional artistic merit and the content of the artist statement will be considered during the selection process.
Consideration is given to accomplishments to date as well as promise for continued development and the impact the fellowship will have on the artist. The panel will also be asked to consider the breadth of artistic practices among Minnesota musicians, which include a wide range of styles and genres, which may be influenced by ethnicity, gender, and geography.
Solo artists and ensembles/bands in all styles compete together.
Panelists will review the tracks submitted as a part of Work Sample A. The panel will choose approximately one-third of the applications to advance to the second round. Panelists are not given the names of applicants in the first round. Login to your account on Acceptd at any time to check on your application status.
The panelists will review the tracks submitted as a part of Work Sample A & Work Sample B, the optional live performance video, résumés and artist statements. After making individual selections from the full list of second round applicants, panelist will meet via conference call to discuss the applicants who are of greatest interest to them. Nine solo artists/ensembles/bands will be selected to perform in the live auditions. Applicants will be notified about their application status by email one month prior to the live audition date.
Final auditions will include two parts: a recorded audition, and a live question and answer session with the panel held via Zoom.
Recorded Audition
Finalists will be invited to MacPhail Center for Music to record a 20-minute live performance in Antonello Hall. Recording sessions will be offered by appointment April 18th-22nd and April 25th-29th, 2022 at MacPhail Center for Music and will be managed by MacPhail’s Web and Multimedia Technician. Appropriate precautions will be taken to ensure the health and safety of those involved. If you are selected as a finalist and in April you do not feel comfortable going to MacPhail to record your audition, reach out to Lindsay Lewis to discuss alternative options for submitting your recording. Finalists are not required to perform works from their online submissions at the final audition.
Question and Answer Session with the Panel
On May 13th, each finalist will have a 20-minute question and answer session with the panel members via Zoom. Performance recordings will be shared with the panel prior to the Zoom call. All finalists must be able to participate in a Zoom call on May 13th to be considered for a fellowship – no exceptions. Interview times are scheduled by lottery.
Finalists receive a $1,000 honorarium for their performance; for fellowship recipients, the honorarium is considered part of the $25,000 award. Panelists consider the performance and conversation with finalists alongside previously submitted materials in selecting four solo artist/ensemble/band fellowship recipients. Finalists are notified of the judges’ decision by phone no later than 9:30 p.m. on May 13th.
Eligibility
Please read carefully. Applicants who do not meet all of the following criteria and expectations will not be considered and should not apply.
The intent of this program is to recognize and support midcareer artists living and working in Minnesota who demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence. Artists who are eligible for these fellowships:
- Have or maintain MN residency for at least one year prior to application and for the duration of the fellowship year.
- Are midcareer with a body of work that demonstrates a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence.
- Can only apply to one McKnight Artist Fellowship in any artistic discipline within a year.
- Can only apply as a solo artist or an ensemble/band member within a year.
- Have not been a recipient of a McKnight Artist Fellowship within any artistic discipline in the last five award years. Recipients of 2017, 2018, and 2019, 2020, and 2021 McKnight Fellowships in any discipline are not eligible.
- Demonstrate growth and ongoing artistry since their most recent McKnight Artist Fellowship.
- Are not staff, board, or immediate family of the McKnight Foundation or fellowship administrative partners. (Independent contractors and faculty are not considered staff and are therefore eligible to apply).
- Are not enrolled full-time in an academic program.
Ensemble/Band
- Have performed together for three or more years with the same members and name as stated on the application.
- Be made up of no more than five members.
- Be an active ensemble/band, having at least four significant performances in each of the last three years.
- If the pandemic prevented your ensemble from performing four times in 2020 or 2021, please reach out to Lindsay Lewis to discuss your eligibility.
Application Guidelines & Requirements
You must provide live or studio recordings, totaling 24 minutes of material, made in the last three years. Recordings should represent your highest quality, best work. Solo artists must submit recordings of solo performances, and ensembles/bands must submit recordings that feature all ensemble/band members listed on the application. Recordings of solo artists and ensembles/bands can include accompaniment. However, the panelists should be able to easily identify and listen to the performance of the applicant. Panelists will have the knowledge of the instrument being performed. Do not include any introductory spoken commentary on your recordings.
Time requirement: 4 minutes or less
Work Sample A should include one or more of the solo artists’ or ensembles’/bands’ works, which when added together, do not exceed a combined total of four minutes. Fading in or fading out a recording is acceptable to avoid exceeding the time allotted. Work Sample A is the only material reviewed by the panelists in the first round.
Time requirement: 20 minutes or less
Work Sample B must contain two or more additional works, which when added together, do not exceed a combined total of 20 minutes in length. Fading in or fading out of a piece of music is acceptable to avoid exceeding time allotted. The panelists will listen to Work Sample A and Work Sample B of all applicants who advance to the second round.
Applicants will be disqualified from the competition if the total time of all works included in Work Sample A exceeds 4 minutes or in Work Sample B exceeds 20 minutes.
It is recommended that all works be uploaded as individual tracks so that panelists may easily advance through the applicant’s recordings.
Applicants must submit a supplementary page listing the names of the works and composers submitted on Work Sample A & B to be submitted as a PDF.
Upload a video of a live performance no longer than five minutes, made in the last three years. The video does not have to be in front of a live audience but must be unprocessed. The audio must be from the same take as the image. Clips from different recordings may be put together into one video to total up to five minutes. The video may or may not include songs performed in your Work Sample A & B recordings. Ensembles/bands must submit recordings that feature all ensemble/band members listed on the application. Recordings of solo artists and ensembles/bands can include accompaniment. However, the panelists should be able to easily identify and listen to the performance of the applicant.
An artist statement no longer than 500 words.
Your artist statement might address the following:
- What is your background as a performing musician?
- How would you describe your distinctive musical voice?
- What do you see as the future of your art form and how does your work contribute to that?
- On the spectrum of cultural advocacy from allyhood to cultural appropriation, where does your music lie?
- What are you doing as a performing musician that isn’t already being done?
- What is next for you as an artist?
If you are a previous McKnight Fellowship for Musicians recipient please answer the following question:
- How has your work developed since your last award?
2-pages or less and be submitted as a PDF.
Submit a current résumé pertaining to the solo artist’s or ensemble’s/band’s music career that highlights your professional accomplishments and achievements including performances, recordings, awards and grants. Ensemble/band résumés must include at least 12 significant performances (4 per year) from the 3 years prior to the application deadline.
Given the constraints caused by the pandemic, if the ensemble has fewer than 3 performances in 2020 or 2021, the application will still be considered. If you had performances scheduled during 2020 or 2021 that were cancelled, please feel free to list those on your resume and indicate that they were cancelled.
At the top of your résumé please include each applicants name (up to 5 for bands/ensembles), the solo artist’s/ensemble’s/band’s name, and corresponding instrument/s.
Résumés may not include: email addresses, web site addresses, quotes or reviews, pictures, photographs, cover letters or letters of recommendation.
Clearly legible copy of a driver’s license for each applicant or other proof of legal
Minnesota residency to be submitted as a PDF.
Past Recipients of McKnight Fellowships for Musicians
2022-2023
Jaye Sinkfield, aka DIVAJ—Rapper, Hip-Hop, Saint Paul DIVAJ is a Minnesota Twin Cities based live performer, writer, and recording artist. They are Black Femme Queer hip-hop artist with the talent and skill to rise to the top of the entertainment industry, a business mindset to impact the culture of both consumer and community, while intentionally healing black wounds, protecting feminine bodies, and valuing queer authenticity through their art. They stand tall in their blackness, bloom effortlessly in their femininity, and embrace their authentic queerness.
Rebecca Merblum, Cello—Classical, Minneapolis Rebecca Merblum is a cellist based in Minneapolis, originally from Connecticut, who has woven her musical life around chamber music, collaboration, and teaching. She plays as a frequent guest with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Bach Society, among many. During the pandemic Rebecca crafted collaborations with the James Sewell Ballet and composer, Chad Hughes exploring the evolution of dance forms from the 18th century to the present. Driven by the interwoven nature of the artistic process Rebecca also held a Target Center Residency at the Weisman Museum entitled Cello Conversations. The final panel ‘What Do You Hear’ inspired the project to continue into its second phase and it is now supported under the umbrella of Springboard for the Arts Fiscal Incubator Program. Early in 2020 she was awarded a grant for her initiative ‘Your Dance’ by Springboard for the Arts as they addressed Artists Combating Isolation. Rebecca is also very much involved in mentoring and working with students in Nairobi as a part of the Art of Music Foundation. She is the Co-Artistic Director of the Kenya International Cello Festival coming in May 2022 along with her newly launched Chamber Music Series in partnership with the Fueled Collective – ‘Sound Dialogue.’ Most recently Rebecca was awarded an Artist in Residence Grant in connection with the Global Music Initiative at MacPhail. Her chosen project is entitled Threads and speaks to the invisible nature of connection as represented in sound, language, and visual art.
Paula Gudmundson, Flute—Classical, Vadnais Heights Paula Gudmundson focuses on centering her work around collaboration, community engagement and bringing voice to the absent narratives in the arts. This includes creating recordings, editions, commissions, and collaborations which push our field beyond the concert stage. Gudmundson has performed at numerous music festivals and events, including regional, national, and international conferences of the College Music Society, National Flute Association conventions, Minnesota Public Radio’s Class Notes Artist, International Flute Festival of Costa Rica, and La Côte Flûte Festival. Recordings include La Flauta of Buenos Aires (2012), Breaking Waves (2019) and Melodies of the Forest (2022). Gudmundson is Associate Professor of Flute and Music Department Head at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Lewis McCaleb aka Lewiee Blaze, Voice & Piano, Hip-Hop, Minneapolis Lewis McCaleb aka Lewiee Blaze is a Universal Artist & Visionary. He co-founded N4 Collective, an Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation cooperative that provides personal, professional, and economic opportunities to artists and entrepreneurs. N4 represents New Mindsets, New Media, New Leaders, and New Narratives, a philosophy created to promote self-care, self-expression, self-confidence, and self-worth. Born and raised in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Lewiee has overcome life’s challenges and aspires to inspire others by providing content about truth, love, peace, freedom, and justice.
2021-2022
Fode Bangoura, Djembe, West African Percussion, Brooklyn Park
Chastity Brown, Voice, Blues & Singer-Songwriter, Minneapolis
Chad Heslup aka Longshot, Vocals—Hip Hop, Minneapolis
Catherine Ramirez, Flute—Classical, Northfield
2020-2021
José A. Zayas Cabán, saxophone—new/classical, Minneapolis
PaviElle French, voice—soul, Columbia Heights
Diane Miller, a.k.a. D Mills, voice—Hip-Hop, folk, alternative, rock, Minneapolis
Kirsten Whitson, cello—classical, St. Paul
2019-2020
Sedra Bistodeau, violin and fiddle, Princeton
Gao Hong, traditional Chinese music, Northfield
Maria Isa, Afro-Latin hip-hop, St. Paul
Will Johnson (W/ILLS), post genre, St. Paul
2018-2019
Jonatha Brooke, singer-songwriter, Minneapolis
Kill the Vultures, hip-hop artists, Minneapolis
MaLLy, hip-hop artist, Minneapolis
Clara Osowski, vocalist (mezzo-soprano), Brooklyn Center
2017-2018
Tonia Hughes, voice, Minneapolis
Aida Shahghasemi, voice and composition, Minneapolis
Carrie Henneman Shaw, voice, Saint Paul
Tim Sparks, guitar, Burnsville
2016-2017
Francesca Anderegg – violin
Javier Santiago – jazz
Pooja Pavan – composer Tracey Engleman – voice
2015-2016
Atlantis Quartet – Zacc Harris, guitar; Brandon Wozniak, tenor saxophone; Chris Bates, double bass; Pete Hennig, drums
Troy King (King Fuvi), emcee and songwriter
Pat O’Keefe, clarinet and bass clarinet
Wilhelmina Smith, cellist
2014-2015
Danami Maurice Champion, songwriter, musician; from St. Paul
Ignacio Nachito Herrera, pianist, arranger and musical director; from White Bear Lake
Siama Matuzungidi, guitar; from Minneapolis
Jacqueline Ultan, cellist, composer; from Minneapolis
2013-2014
Haley Bonar, voice, guitar, piano, keyboard, from St. Paul
Cléa Galhano, recorder, from St. Paul
Paul Metzger, banjo, from St. Paul
Maiya Papach, viola, from St. Paul
2012-2013
Christopher Atzinger, piano, from Dundas
Gao Hong, pipa, from Northfield
Laura MacKenzie, flutes/pipes/whistles/concertina/voice, from Northfield
Karen Mueller, autoharp, from Minneapolis
2011-2012
Orkestar Bez Ime, Colleen Bertsch, violin/vocals; Dee Langley, accordion/vocals; Katrina Mundinger, clarinet/percussion/vocals; Natalie Nowytski, vocals/percussion
The Roe Family Singers, Quillan and Kim Roe
John Snow, oboe
Noah Hoehn, harmonic/marimba/voice/percussion
2010-2011
Bryan Nichols, pianist
Nirmala Rajasekar, veena player
Parker Quartet, Daniel Chong, violin; Karen Kim, violin; Jessica Bodner, viola; Kee-Hyun Kim, cello
Carrie Henneman Shaw, voice
2009-2010
Asako Hirabayashi, harpsichord
Bernhard David Scully, horn
Christopher Marshall, bassoon
Fora Baltacigil, double bass
2008-2009
Linda Chatterton, flutist
Sarah Kwak, violinist
Gao Hong, Chinese pipa player
Arek Tesarczyk, cellist
2007-2008
Noah Hoehn, harmonica player
David Karr, saxophone player
Charles Lazarus, trumpeter
Matthew Young, violist
2006-2007
Katja Linfield, cellist
Patrick Harison McPeck, accordionist
The Minneapolis Quartet, string quartet
2005-2006
Connie Evingson, vocalist
Amy and Sara Hamann, piano duo
Ross/Rapier Cello Duo
Voice Trek, vocal ensemble
2004-2005
Stephanie Arado, violinist
Artaria String Quartet
John Snow, oboist
Thomas Turner, violist
2003-2004
Steven Copes, violinist
Noah Hoehn, harmonica player
Dean Magraw, guitarist
Stephanie Wendt, pianist
2002-2003
Leibundguth-Witt Duo, flute & piano duo
Neal and Leandra, voice/guitar duo
Nina Tso-Ning Fan, violinist
Soyulla Duo, violin & cello duo
2001-2002
Dare to Breathe, vocal ensemble
Gao Hong, Chinese pipa player
Prudence Johnson, vocalist
Anthony Ross, cellist
2000-2001
The Bakken Trio, piano trio
Rosalyra Quartet, string quartet
Timothy Paradise, clarinetist
Connie Evingson, vocalist
1999-2000
Duologue, flute & guitar duo
Jorja Fleezanis, violinist
Diane Jarvi, vocalist & instrumentalist
Peter Mayer, vocalist/guitarist
1998-1999
Linda Chatterton, flutist
Laura MacKenzie, Celtic multi-instrumentalist
Ruth MacKenzie, vocalist
Sunita Staneslaw, harpist
1997-1998
Ensemble Capriccio, string trio
Gao Hong, Chinese pipa player
Shank-MacLaughlin Duo, violin & piano duo
Tadeusz Majewski, pianist
Contact & Resources
If you have questions after reviewing these guidelines, please contact:
Regarding Eligibility and Guidelines:
Lindsay Lewis
Email: lewis.lindsay@macphail.org
Phone: 612-767-5586
Regarding the Online Application Software:
Acceptd Customer Support
Email: support@getacceptd.com
Phone: 1-888-725-2122
McKnight Artist Fellow Logo
McKnight Musician Fellows should feel free to use these logos which have been designed for McKnight Artist Fellows.