The Schubert Club Insider

After 39 wonderful years of leading the Music in the Park Series, founder Julie Himmelstrup is retiring. We asked former Schubert Club Board Member and long time devotee to the series, Lynne Beck, to share some of Julie’s accolades with us. 

A 55-year resident of the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, Music in the Park Series Founder and Artistic Director Julie Himmelstrup had a vision of creating a chamber music series in the acoustically and architecturally superb St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ. Working with a committee of neighborhood residents, she launched the series in 1979 with a budget of $5,000. The first season, featuring the 25-member Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, flutist Julia Bogorad, Grammy award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin, and pianist Thelma Hunter, was a success.

To make the gatherings educational and accessible, the Series also includes pre-concert talks about the music and meet-the-artist receptions after the performance. From its beginnings as a small neighborhood treasure, Julie developed Music in the Park Series into a nationally recognized chamber music series.

Julie Himmelstrup is a beloved figure in local music circles and beyond. A much-lauded impresaria, she has a unique intuitive ability to select and present the best chamber musicians. Prominent artists from Scandinavia, France, Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, Austria, Mexico, England, United States; and the Twin Cities such as pianist Lydia Artymiw; violinists Steven Copes, Erin Keefe, and Jorja Fleezanis; Minnesota Orchestra conductor and clarinetist Osmo Vanska, and jazz pianist Butch Thompson, to name of few, have graced the Music in the Park Series stage.

Several times a year, musicians perform for students in St. Anthony Park Schools and residents of the St. Anthony Park Home for seniors. These free outreach activities give school audiences, who represent the full diversity of St. Paul School students, and seniors, who are unable to attend concerts outside their facility, a rare opportunity to experience a live performance by world-class musicians.

Early on, Julie developed a hands-on approach which included ticket sales, marketing, budget development (the series has never had a deficit), fundraising, program planning, communication with artists and management, as well as forming partnerships with local businesses, churches and other non-profits in the community.

The three-concert Family Concert Series, established almost 30 years ago, first took place at the St. Anthony Park Library and later at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in St. Anthony Park. These family-friendly events feature prominent Twin Cities musicians along with world-class ensembles from the chamber music series. The artists present programs of folk, ethnic and classical music that include storytelling, dance and audience participation for children of all ages and their families. 

“No arts administrator in my 35 year career as a musician has been more supportive of my work than Julie Himmelstrup. I loved to bring ideas for new programs to Julie and she would say, “What do you need?” She encouraged me to dream big and to think big and her support made it possible to develop new shows that had a life well beyond the Music in the Park Family Concert Series.” Ross Sutter (acclaimed local artist who has appeared on the Family Concert Series numerous times.)

Julie believed in presenting emerging as well as prominent established musicians. Young artists like Alisa Weilerstein (sought-after solo artist and 2011 recipient of the MacArthur “genius grant”),” Mark Kosower (Principal Cello of the Cleveland Orchestra and avid soloist), and Christopher O’Riley (acclaimed pianist and host of MPR’s From the Top) performed on Music in the Park Series at very young ages. Mark Kosower was only 9! Other musicians first played on the series before presenting their recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  

Julie has introduced new music to audiences by commissioning works and regularly presenting contemporary classical music. She has a passionate dedication to new music and the promotion of Minnesota composers. Music in the Park Series has commissioned and/or premiered works by local composers Randall Davidson, Carol Barnett, Stephen Paulus, Libby Larsen and David Evan Thomas as well as national composers like Pulitzer Prize-winner Aaron Jay Kernis; Pulitzer prize and MacArthur “genius grant”-winner Julia Wolfe; MPR’s Piano Puzzler and writer Bruce Adolphe; and prolific piano soloist and visual artist Lera Auerbach.  

“No community is truly great without art as its core.” “She loved the music, she loved art, she loved community. It takes a rare person to be able to provide the kind of atmosphere, accommodations, travel planning and love that has brought the absolute top international musical performers to our little neighborhood for almost 40 years. Julie has been able to do it with an indefatigable combination of intellect, charm, hard work and heart,” said Jon Schumacher, Executive Director of the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation. 

After 39 years of leading the series, Julie is stepping down as artistic director at end of the 2017-2018 season. The season finale on April 15, 2018 brought the series full circle with a performance by both the current and the original members of the Lark Quartet who played on the series in their early years. Park Bugle stated that it was truly a “standing ovation for Julie.”  

Julie Himmelstrup, 81, has spent almost four decades advocating for musicians and their audiences in the Twin Cities community. By presenting quality chamber music in a variety of settings, she has had an extraordinary impact on thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds. Julie has dedicated her life to creating and nurturing a distinctive chamber music series that reaches well beyond the boundaries of the St. Anthony Park neighborhood. Fortunately for all who love her and Music in the Park Series, her legacy will continue in the capable hands of Barry Kempton and the Schubert Club, the area’s oldest music organization.

Schubert Club is thrilled to welcome a new instrument to our modern pianos collection which will live in the Thelma Hunter Recital Room of our Museum in Landmark Center. The instrument has quite a story behind it which I am excited to share with you.

The piano, a 7-foot Steinway B grand piano built in Hamburg around 1980 is a gift to us by Sita Ohanessian, a close friend of the Schubert Club. Sita has lovingly cared for the piano since her beloved sister Beatrice passed away in 2008.

I have had the good fortune to get to know Sita in my six years with Schubert Club and, through Sita, I have learned much about Beatrice, an outstanding piano soloist and composer. Born in Baghdad, Beatrice studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Juilliard School in New York. Because she missed her homeland – and contrary to the advice of many who wanted her to stay in the States to pursue a performing career –she returned to Iraq to “teach my fellow countrymen to love music”.

Thanks to a book about Beatrice Ohanessian written by former Schubert Club staff member Holly Windle in 2008 entitled “Baghdad Barcarolle”, I am happy to retell the fascinating story of the Ohanessian Steinway piano.

Beatrice was primarily a concert pianist and held the position of principal concert pianist for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra. She also composed a number of musical works and received praise for them. She learned that colleagues had brought her music to the attention of the President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. On receiving recommendations and hearing a recording of her music, Saddam offered to reward Beatrice with a gift from the Iraqi government in honor of her cultural services. She ignored suggestions from her friends of a gold watch or a car, and decided instead to ask for a new piano to replace her ailing Bechstein grand.  

Beatrice was invited to the palace and went apprehensively. She waited to be received by Saddam. She waited a long time. She was eventually told that Saddam was busy in an emergency meeting with his cabinet due to an event in the Iran-Iraq war. He was in the room right next door, but he was not going to be available to see her in person. Instead the offer of a gift from the State was made to her by a palace official. Beatrice told him that she would like a piano, to which the official said they would arrange for her to pick one from the local department store. Emboldened by the fact that this proposal came from an official and not from President Saddam Hussein himself, Beatrice responded that she would like it to be a Steinway and that it would have to be purchased in Germany. To help the official understand, she explained the difference as choosing a Mercedes over a bicycle. To her surprise, the official agreed and she left the palace with a certificate authorizing her to purchase a Yamaha or a Steinway and to have the bill paid by the government of Iraq. On her next concert tour in Europe, Beatrice visited a Steinway showroom and selected a beautiful Steinway B.   

Beatrice was separated from it for a while when she herself moved to the States and the piano remained in Iraq, but eventually it was shipped to the States, and piano and pianist were reunited. How lucky we are that they were! We have been fortunate to count sisters Beatrice and Sita in our Schubert Club family for many years. Taking possession of the Steinway piano, we will treasure it as a dear member of our family of musical instruments.        

Please come visit our free Museum soon to see it!

Today’s blog is written by Kate Cooper, Schubert Club’s Director of Education and Museum. 

It is a joy and an honor to manage Schubert Club’s Education programs which nurture and support the dreams, ambitions, and emerging talents of music students across the five-state area.

Schubert Club generously provides scholarships and grants through three programs, including the annual Bruce P. Carlson Student Scholarship program—originating in 1922. In that year, three winners, representing Voice, Violin, and Piano, each received $150. In 2018 approximately 220 students will participate in fourteen different categories, representing Strings, Piano, Voice, Brass, Woodwinds, Guitar, and Organ. Schubert Club will award $2000 and $1500 prizes to first and second place winners in every category—which includes aspiring artists from age 12 to 30.

Many student competitors have truly been “musicians on the rise,” achieving significant musical and other career accomplishments. Pianist Celius Dougherty, guitarist Sharon Isbin, television commentator Gretchen Carlson, and this season’s International Artist Series vocal star Clara Osowski are a few examples of our winners’ post-competition success.

Competitions like ours afford students a chance to test their skills, network with fellow musicians, and discover how they measure up to their peers. It asks them to rise to a sense of occasion and push themselves to achieve more. Competition motivates a student to strive for accuracy, intonation, and musical interpretation in a more detailed way than for a concert. Also, students receive comments from expert musicians in their specific instrument category—contributing to their musical growth.

Students who do not receive monetary awards through the scholarship competition have another opportunity for support through the Schubert Club’s Special Music Grants program. Each year Schubert Club offers grants averaging $500 each to serious, talented music students in need of financial assistance for music education projects such as summer camps, workshops, and other unique and innovative projects which further musical creativity and development. One of the unique projects from last season was developed by a university student as a service mission in Tanzania, Africa. The grant recipient not only gave her time as a volunteer clarinet teacher in the village schools, she also advocated for—and planted— African Blackwood trees (which clarinets are made from) in this ideal climate.

It’s very important to Schubert Club that Special Music Grants also be designated for Twin Cities community programs for high-potential students who do not have the resources available to participate in special study opportunities. Organizations we were pleased to partner with for these funds included Walker West, GTCYS’s Harmony program, ARTS-Us, and our own Project CHEER. Over fifteen students from these programs were able to participate in summer music programs because of the Schubert Club’s funding.

Lastly, each year, in partnership with Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, a free one-day workshop for students age 12–18 gives classical pianists an opportunity to explore the world of jazz, and to further the skills of piano students who have begun to play jazz. Special scholarships endowed by the families of Marie Froehlich, Jane Matteson, and David Paulus are offered to three students to continue their jazz studies privately with a local Jazz teacher.

We believe strongly in the mission to expand access and opportunity to music education for students, and it is very gratifying to be a part of this generous organization that provides over $50,000 annually to support the next generation of music-making!

Today’s blog post is written by Paul D. Olson, the Schubert Club’s Director of Development. 

Schubert Club has a long history of generous patrons who believe that great music contributes to a great community. The history of philanthropic giving in Minnesota is among the top in the nation. We are fortunate that people in our community understand the need for non-profit organizations that contribute to our quality of life, and respond by giving their time and resources to ensure they are strong today, and for the future.

For 100 years, donors have had the option to claim their charitable gifts as a write-off on their taxes, and this philosophy helped encourage giving. The strength of the non-profit sector has in a large part, benefitted from tax itemization that allowed more dollars to go to their favorite charities while reducing total personal taxes. The new law that just went into effect allows a larger standard deduction and lower tax rates, giving most people a simpler tax situation, so itemizing may not be an incentive to reduce their taxes. So, what does this mean for future philanthropic giving?

Last year, gifts from individuals made up nearly three-quarters of the $390 billion donated to philanthropies, outpacing the money flowing from foundations, bequests and corporations.* The tax code has encouraged these gifts since the charitable deduction was created in 1917. There is speculation that future giving could go down because there isn’t an incentive for people to do itemizing of their charitable giving.

I beg to differ. Schubert Club donors are loyal, and understand the value of our concerts, education programs and museum as being assets in their lives, and for our community. Giving comes from the heart, and in the first two months of this new tax era, we haven’t experienced a noticeable change in donations. Time will tell, but I believe the extra dollars in our pockets means we have extra dollars to help the charities that touch our lives.

Sarah Caruso, president of the Greater Twin Cities United Way, said she worries about the impact of the new tax bill but is not giving up on any donors just yet. “I’m not going to plan a retreat right now,” Caruso said. “I plan to go out and make the case for the need. And the need in the community is not changing.”

Schubert Club is not changing, and the need and desire for great music continues. Thank you in advance for your continued generosity and thank you for being a part of the Schubert Club family!

*Source: Patrick Rooney, professor of economic and philanthropy and director of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University

For today’s blog post, I am happy to share with you Schubert Club’s 2016-2017 Annual Report. Click on the following link to view the full document: Annual Report 2016-17

Wander into the beautiful Landmark Center at Rice Park on a Thursday noontime, and if your route takes you near the high-ceilinged, wood-paneled courtroom on the third floor, you are likely to hear a performance by some of the finest musicians in the Twin Cities. The music is part of Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concert Series.

The series came into existence in 1992 as successor to the long-running “Live from Landmark Series,” co-sponsored with Minnesota Public Radio. At that time, MPR was making changes to its programming format and reassigned priorities. When the decision came to cancel “Live From Landmark,” some hearts sank; however, almost as quickly a remarkable recovery materialized, due in part to Ramsey County’s desire to provide free events in the building. 

Only a few changes were necessary: the programs would no longer be broadcast, and the venue was changed from the Weyerhaeuser Auditorium in the lower level of Landmark Center to the Ramsey County Courtroom on the third floor. 

Schubert Club would continue to tap superb performers from our musically-rich community: orchestra players, teachers, student scholarship winners, and freelancers. While some might recall a few empty seats in the first years of this new series, it didn’t take long for word to spread that here was a little concert worth coming to. Now the concerts are often “standing room only.”

Complimentary coffee continues to be served each week, and there is no admission charge. But the real draw is the interesting and varied programming, which has remained the focus of the series throughout the years. From Early Music to music composed earlier in the week, from marimba to mezzo-soprano, from solo piano to string quartet, a broad mixture of programming keeps the series fresh and keeps the crowds coming.

Hosted by composer Abbie Betinis, the Courtroom Concerts run from October through April.

Many International Artist Series regulars will remember Igor Levit’s debut recital at the Ordway two years ago.  For those who heard him play then, it is maybe no great surprise that last week, it was announced that he won a major piano prize: the Gilmore Artist Award worth $300,000.  There’s an in-depth, fascinating article about him in Sunday’s New York Times here.

I have two fun revelations relating to Igor Levit and the Gilmore Award. 

First, Igor will return to the International Artist Series next season.  I know that sharing this news breaks with our usual practice of announcing new seasons (International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series) in February.  But given the news of the award and the fact that several Schubert Club friends immediately got in touch to urge us to bring Igor back, I am happy to “leak” Igor Levit’s return recital in October – in advance of publishing the rest of the series.  I’m excited, and I know many Twin Cities recital fans will be too.

The other thing I’m pleased to reveal after the secrecy of the past two years is that I was a member of the 5-person Gilmore selection committee.  It was both a privilege and a fascinating process.  The selection procedure for the Gilmore Artist award winner is different to the way that most prize money is awarded in the classical music world; this is expressly not a competition.  Serving on the Gilmore jury involves hearing nominated pianists performing in public performances without the artists knowing that they are under consideration.  Sometimes alone and sometimes together with other committee members, I attended recitals and concerto performances in various parts of the United States and Europe.  Our brief was to attend “under the radar”, listen and report back to the rest of the committee with observations and recommendations.  Over the course of many months, I listened to dozens of recordings and made some 20 or so trips to hear pianists perform.  It made for a busy couple of years.  Increased frequent flyer miles aside, it was a remarkable opportunity to hear many of the leading emerging pianists of our time.  And while it is true that you can learn a lot about a performer from a recording (both audio and video), you learn a whole lot more when you hear them live.  So, I feel as if it was not only a great experience for me personally, but that it should serve Schubert Club too, as we do our very best to present outstanding artists in concert for our audience.

I’m not in a position to compare the pool of candidates with pools of previous rounds, but I can say that the quality – both technical and musical – of the short list of pianists I got to hear was unbelievably high.  As a committee, we’ve agreed not to identify the broader list of names we were considering, but it is fair to say that Igor Levit stood out as an pianist who not only shone musically and technically, but as an artist who takes risks with his programming choices and always has something interesting to communicate to his audience.  We’re in for a treat with his October recital featuring music by Bach, Busoni, Schumann, Wagner and Liszt.  As for the rest of the artists and ensembles we will present next season, I’m afraid you will have to wait a few more weeks until our announcement next month.