Annual Report 2011-2012

One Voice’s 2011-12 season was a significant success. Jane Ramseyer Miller returned from a year-long sabba�cal, reinvigorated. The Chorus performed at 34 events or concerts a�ended by more than 11,500 individuals. One Voice delivered its mission of building community and crea�ng social change by raising our voices in song in a number of ways.

One Voice was one of the first arts partners with MN United and throughout the year much was done to support the equality cause. In November One Voice toured to Duluth where the first fundraiser in that region was held to support marriage equality. The annual OUT in Our Schools project resulted in the singers par�cipa�ng in six schools and impac�ng over 1,200 students.

The Board of Directors con�nued to be a governance focused en�ty. Lise�e Schlosser returned to the role of Board Chair.

The organiza�on engaged its first full-�me Execu�ve Director who started in January 2012. This development allowed for the organiza�on’s profile to be raised and many community connec�ons were made. A strategic development plan is in the process of being implemented, growing the Chorus.

Financially, One Voice had a strong year, ending with the highest income level in its history. It is the sixth year in a row that the organiza�on ended in the black.

Ar�s�cally, One Voice had an excep�onal year, including being the inaugural choir to perform at MPR’s Harmony in the Park and a week later performing for Chorus America’s 35th Annual Conference at Symphony Hall that was heard by 35,000 listeners live on MPR. The season completed in Denver, CO when 73 singers performed at the quadrennial GALA Choral Fes�val.

Thank you for suppor�ng One Voice Mixed Chorus on the cusp of the 25th Anniversary. This report provides more details about all of the successes. The best is yet to come.

Thank you for suppor�ng One Voice!Craig CooganExecu�ve Director

ARTISTIC HIGHLIGHTSIn November 2011 One Voice went to St. Francis High School and rehearsed with their school choir. St. Francis is located in the heart of Anoka County where for some � me there was a signifi cant policy struggle on requiring staff to remain neutral when the topic of sexual orienta� on came up in the classroom. One Voice comba� ed stereotypes and sang side by side with the students, made personal connec� ons and served as role models. In January the Chorus returned to the school for a joint-concert that elicited several spontaneous standing ova� ons from the largely skep� cal audience

of parents. In April the school choir was awarded the 2012 Most Promising New Program Aspire Award by the Na� onal Show Choir Championship.

I believe there are far too few moments that really “move” people. I want you to know that listening to the St. Francis high school choir and seeing the pride, and quality with which they sing, listening to One Voice and the excellence promoted as well as seeing the sheer joy on the faces of every member of the choir, and fi nally seeing the collabora� on between the two choirs moved me. Thank you both for that “moment” I will always remember it.

In November 2011 One Voice went to Duluth and performed a concert in collabora� on with Duluth United for All Families, marking the unoffi cial launch of the campaign there. The concert was performed at a house of worship, bridging the community on the emo� onal topic of gay marriage. Six months later Richard Carlbom, Campaign Manager for Minnesotans United for All Families ci� ed One Voice’s touring as the “exact way that performing arts groups should be taking the message of equality across our state.”

In January the Chorus presented Brave Souls & Dreamers at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, MN. This inspira� onal concert celebrated the lives of visionary leaders who have challenged prejudice and violence: Harvey Milk, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Judy Shepard and more. Featuring music by Bob Dylan, Holly Near, and Stephen Sondheim, plus the premiere of BraveSouls & Dreamers, arranged especially for One Voice and inspired by the words of peacemakers from around the globe.

This was my fi rst � me going to a performance. What a powerful message by songs. Just fell in love with the chorus there are no words to describe the emo� ons I felt during your performance. I lost it when you put Ma� hew Shepard up on the screen. I am a almost 64 year old lesbian and I want to thank all of you for reaching out to the youth. THANK YOU...you are amazing.

In May 2012 One Voice performed at four St. Paul area schools for the OUT in Our Schools program. For 3 of the 4 schools this was the only choral music exposure the students got all year, and for all four schools this was the significant GLBT outreach they do. At Gordon Park High School there is no music program at all. Ar�s�c Director Jane Ramseyer Miller works with each school for about a month before the Chorus comes to rehearse and perform at the school. At Gordon Park she introduced boomwhacker and percussion which the students really responded to. A�er the One Voice joint concert with the students the principal announced that the school would be launching its first-ever percussion group in the fall.

Many of us talk about what should be done, few of us actually step into the unknown and make the change

The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote about One Voice’s work on bullying.

Ar�cle: Chorus uses Bizet, and a bull, to defuse bullying

Ar�cle by: KIM ODE, June 15, 2012 - 7:21 PM

Familiarity, far from breeding contempt, increases tolerance. That’s common sense, but also researched sense. Now one Twin Ci�es chorus is providing familiarity with a soundtrack.

The specific mission is to give gay and lesbian students a means of responding to bullies, but the vision applies to anyone who has felt the s�ng of slurs and even violence because of disabili�es, race or because they simply are perceived as different, said Jane Ramseyer Miller, who directs the One Voice Mixed Chorus, North America’s largest chorus comprising gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight singers.

A day rarely passes without high school students hearing an an�-gay slur in the halls, said Miller. “One of my theories is that as more kids come out and are more visible, I think there is increased backlash. At some point there has to be a �pping point.”

Miller spoke at the na�onal conven�on of Chorus America, which concludes Saturday in Minneapolis. Her session, “Confron�ng Bullying Through Music,” described a program that One Voice has developed to bring music, as well as a message of tolerance for differences, into schools.

The program involves several weeks of rehearsals with students, mostly in high schools, that culminates in a joint concert.

“The Pew Research Center has found that there’s a high correla�on between knowing someone who is gay and suppor�ng the fair treatment of the GLBT community,” Miller said. Yet she’s as invested in bringing a music experience into the schools. With recent funding cuts, she said, “some�mes we’re that school’s sole music programming for the year.”

The program, OUT in Our Schools, mostly involves “hanging out and singing,” she said, which sounds simple, but it’s the coming together over a love of singing that begins to break down barriers, she said, while also fulfilling the chorus’ mission of building community “instead of just singing to people who like us.”

Chorus members, all amateurs and volunteers, take �me off work for school programs, “because they can’t imagine what it would have been like as a gay person to have a gay choir come to their school,” Miller said. “For anybody over 30, it’s beyond imagining.”

Before coming to the school, One Voice distributes a survey seeking students’ a�tudes about GLBT people, then offers the survey again when the program is over. It’s called “narra�ve research,” she said, which tracks how a�tudes change. Effec�veness is difficult to gauge otherwise, she explained. “We have plenty of sta�s�cs about bullying, but it’s difficult to show how well it can be comba�ed.”

The program aims to give the students strategies to use when confronted by

bullying, using the acronym SAFE to help them recall a message of speaking up, asking for help, finding a friend and exi�ng a situa�on.

One Voice was in six schools this past school year. Not every experience was wholly posi�ve. Some parents pulled their students from rehearsals. Some wrote le�ers to the editor in protest.

“But really, across the board, we have administrators who believe in this,” she said. “And we are very clear about who we are. There are no surprises.”

There is, however, always food. “We serve food at every rehearsal,” Miller added. “When you’re dealing with kids, food is always important, and it’s a great way to get to know one another.”

At schools’ requests, One Voice has developed a similar an�-bullying program for younger grades, employing such familiar childhood stories as “Ferdinand the Bull,” who preferred to smell flowers rather than fight in the bull ring. The story enables One Voice to bring in music such as Bizet’s “Carmen,” the “Flower Duet” from Lakmé and “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

“We want to plant the idea of the ways in which music can really address these issues,” Miller said. “Our key message is that normal is fine, but different is great.”

On June 7, 2012 One Voice was one of three inaugural choruses to perform at Minnesota Public Radio’s first-ever Harmony in the Park event. The Minnesota Boychoir and Vocal Essence also performed and there was a group number at the end. More than 2,000 people a�ended at Minnehaha Park. Wow, was this a compe��on? No, I don’t think this was a compe��on (whispered) but One Voice was the BEST! –Audience member

On June 13, 2012 One Voice performed for the first �me at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. The Chorus was selected by blind audi�on to be one of eight choruses represen�ng Minnesota at Chorus America’s 35th Annual Conference. The event aired live on MPR. Chorus America has described One Voice as “one of the region’s best ensembles.”

Come Fly With Me was the Chorus’ Spring Concert, held at the History Theatre in St. Paul, MN. The concert was a spirited trip around the globe where travel songs and indigenous music were woven with stories of GLBT communi�es worldwide. This musical travelogue included a fiery Argen�nean tango, lush choral favorites from Russia, an encounter with faeries in Ireland, Bulgarian women’s vocal delights, heart-pounding African drumming, and sing-along favorites from the USA. Students who had a�ended and par�cipated with the OUT in Our Schools events during the year all received complimentary �ckets to the concert. At each of the performances groups of students a�ended. The students came up on stage and helped lead the audience in a sing-along. I a�ended this concert on Friday, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to. The performance was spectacular! It was breathtakingly emo�onal and brilliantly wi�y all at once! I am so proud to be a member of the GLBT community; and to know that it spawned something as beau�ful as this. In one word: “Fabulous.” - High School Student a�er June concert

In July 2012 73 One Voice members travelled to Denver to par�cipate at the quadrennial GALA Choral Fes�val where thousands of people heard One Voice. The GALA concerts showcased One Voice as one of the premiere Mixed Choruses in the GALA community.

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FINANCESOne Voice end with the highest income level in its history. It is the sixth year in a row that the organiza�on

ended in the black. Financial informa�on as of September 15, 2012. Unaudited.

ASSETSCash 878Investments 5,072Accounts Receivable 4,206Grants Receivable 17,500Pledges Receivable 66,422

TOTAL ASSETS 94,078

LIABILITIES & NET ASSETSAccounts Payable 2,985Accrued Payroll 5,693Deferred Revenue 1,120

TOTAL LIBAILITIES 9,798

Unrestricted Net Assets 18,548Temporarily Restricted 65,732Total Net Assets 84,280

TOTAL Liabilities & Net Assets 94,078

IncomeFoundations, Government, Corp. 91,712In-Kind 24,644Individual Donations 65,332Membership Dues 12,558Fundraising Events 34,785Performing Income 37,414Other 7,063

TOTAL INCOME 273,507Expenses

Program 170,430Management & General 76,545Fundraising 21,988

TOTAL EXPENSES 268,963

NET INCOME 4,544

FORTISIMO ($2,500 and above)

Craig CooganJon LewisEarl MooreJane Ramseyer Miller

FORTE ($1,000 to $2,499)

Brige�a AbelTimothy BichaMarisa Squadrito GeislerVicki Janisch-TriKatrina JohnsonKyle KossolCarolee LindseyShannon PierceLise�e SchlosserLane SkalbergJohn SullivanMichael VitaleJohn WhalenAnita WheelerChip Whitacre

MEZZO FORTE ($250 to $999)

Anonymous John BagniewskiRuth BirkholzSandra BrauSco� CadyMaureen DayLee Fisher MillerDawn GelleDoug GestonThomas HainesChris�ne HazelSarah HendersonCate HesserAlice HolstLousene HoppeRachel HultmanInvest in Others

Charitable Founda�on Kim JuhlDennis KearneyRobin KeckGary KelseyCynthia LeafBetsy LeeKim MakieNicole Navra�lMerlen OlsonCarolyn O’shaughnessyJulie OwenRuth PalmerBe�y PerryPaul PetrellaSpencer PutneyJacque ReidelbergerBonnie RussKaren RusthovenTracy Schae�auerCarlos SneedMarylou SteedenTimbre Music Dick Van DeusenMary WarneAllan WarriorColleen Kay Watson

MEZZO PIANO ($100 to $249)

Gregory E. AllenSharon ArmstrongAndrea BakerMichael BredenkampCurt BrownRon BrunkSco� BurglechnerDonna BurroughsElden BystedtCommunity of Christ Saint Paul Congrega�on Chris DartSusan DiekragerDan DigreMairi DoerrMarie Elmer

Shawn ErwinLoren FlickerKaren Fli�onMary Kay For�er-SpaldingVicki Lee GeislerBrian GevingMichael GilliganDarolyn GraySteve GreenbergJoyce GreeneKeith GrennierKathleen HagenPatricia L. HagueJulie Haight CurranJulie HandbergBrad HansonAnn HarringtonJudy HoyJulie JohnsonNancy JohnsonDwight JoynerJaqueline JuhlJerry Evan KelleyJim KempSharon KunauRobert KurversJohn LarsenCheryl LaurentCheryl LeitschuhEd LewisDonna LongRay MakeeverLee MaukMichelle MaxwellKimberly McDevi�Linda McDougalRobert MenselBarbara MielkeWilliam MillerJosh NelsonAllen OlsonRuth O�oShari PleissDenise ProsekKevin ReardonElizabeth Reid

Julia ReimerJames RoccoSharon Rodning BashRena RogersJudy RoskaJane SageSally SchlosserLeslie ShoreJulie SorensenBarbara SquadritoJoseph StanleyGeorge StevensRichard Stever-ZeitlinDan ThielenEleanore TroxelRobert TylerJennifer Van WGloria Vande HoefKarin VandykeElaine VoborilMalcolm WatsonBarbara WeaverSandra WestbyPaul WhartonGraham WoodHarvey Zuckman

DYNAMIC DONORS

PIANO ($10 to $99)

Elizabeth AlexanderJeff AngelinaAon Corpora�on Rondi AtkinDorothy Barnes-GriswoldRamona BaskervilleLaura BilbyStacey BoucherPam CarlsonNancy CoxCarol CumminsBeth Cu�ngDonna Dema�eoAnna DennisMichael DezurikDan DonkersPeg DuenowJennifer DunnamTherese DurkinCarol EganDaniel Ei�ngonKatherine EklundVictoria ElliotEllen EtzkinCarolyn EvansSherman FordJoe FrankRobert Garre�Nancy GladesRuzana GlaeserBruce GoodmanJames Go�riedSara GrachekGregory GrinleyBeth GuseniusLiz Hardin-StrnadGary HargrovesJean HartmanSusan HaughElisabeth HauserJennifer HayesDarla HeinoKate Lynn HibbardAnita Hill

Julie HoffPaul HogrefeGerald HoistadNanne�e HoppeAP HopperKevin HorneCheryl HornsteinThomas Patrick HoyDonald HultmanLori L. JacobwithPauline JohnsonKimberly JohnsonAmy JohnsonCharles M. JohnsonConnie KauppiTara KingRobin King CooperBrad KliewerRonald KubikJay KurversAmy KutzMichael Lamo�eAlex LantaffiLynne LarsenHeidi LarsonJanet LaudeKathy LeeSteve LeniusAnn LevitonSteven LevyVickie LindRonald LoenAlexis Ludwig-VogenSherrie LuetgersJuanita LuisVern MaetzoldBonnie MarshKris�n Ma�hews LongLiz McClearJane McMahillBarbara Meyer-ReedGlen MillerNancy MoralesRebecca MorrellConnie MortonSusan MossKaren Muleski

Ganapathy S. NarayanKaren NayMaureen NelsonBradley NeuhauserSandy NewcomKaren NielsenJonathan NyeDon OberdorferSarah OlsonGail OlsonDane�e OlsonLouise PardeeCarla PeckSteph PedersonAnne PeekKatrina PiersonTodd Pinzu�Jeanne Audrey PowersAndrew PresleyEdward ReedJennifer RiveraMary RogersRobert RoseDarcy RoweCarol Sable WadeStephen SchachtWayne SchneiderSharon SechristStephanie ShawCathy SherwinKathrine SimonsonLinda Joyce SmithMarty SmithMichael SmukSheryl SnitkinMary SteenJim Stra�onPa� SvendsenSandra SwamiLeo TassinariAmanda TempelJolene Thibedean BoydAllison ThielenHeather TraceyGita VarnerElizabeth VaughtAngela Veome�

DYNAMIC DONORSEllen VondrashekMichael WalzRebecca WarrenDavid WellsRobert WintersJoy YoshikawaCarol ZaagsmaLouise Ziegler

SPONSORS

In 2008, One Voice inaugurated a program to honor those who have le� One Voice a legacy gi� in their wills or estate plans in support of our mission of building community and crea�ng social change.

Thank you to the following individuals:

Sharon BarndJane Ramseyer MillerCarla Peck & Stephanie PeckPaul PetrellaColleen Kay WatsonJohn Whalen

In April 2006, One Voice inaugurated a mul�-year giving society to ensure our financial stability for expanding the reach of our mission of social jus�ce. We are grateful to these excep�onal donors who pledged $1,000 for five years:

Anita BradshawAnne BreckbillNeec Bowyer & Amy GiffordBri� Abel & Sco� BurglechnerChris�ne HazelKatrina Johnson & Anita WheelerKyle Kossol & Tom BeckerCarolee LindseyJane Ramseyer MillerJoel Mugge & Adam Hamilton (deceased)Shannon Pierce & Rachael KroogKaren & Jay RusthovenColleen Kay Watson & Mary McDougallCheryl Winch

Crescendo Society Donors 2011-2012

Sandra BrauSco� Cady & Sean HaefelThomas & Diane HainesMarisa Squadrito Geisler & Chris GeislerDarolyn Gray & Carolee LindseyKatrina Johnson & Anita WheelerKyle Kossol & Tom BeckerJon & Lisa LewisEarl Moore & Marcus LarsonMaureen Lunde & Be�y PerryShannon Pierce & Rachael KroogJudy RoskaKaren & Jay RusthovenLise�e Schlosser & Peg BauwensMarylou & Terry SteedenJohn SullivanMichael & Houry VitaleElaine Voboril & Marnie Milbert