A Long-Overdue Update
Greetings, one and all. I know it feels like forever since my last post, and two months IS a pretty significant chunk of time, so first of all... my apologies. I haven't been trying to keep you out of the loop! Rather, February was a relatively slow (and unphotographed) month, and March was the busiest of any I've experienced throughout my entire year.
My time as Miss Minnesota can be divided into 4 sections: 1) post-MissMN insanity, 2) Miss America prep, 3) post-Miss America recovery, and 4) pre-MissMN windup. The work I've done with my platform has been the one constant throughout every segment, though the number and frequency of appearances has definitely varied from month to month. With Contestant Forum next weekend, we're cruising right along into section 4 of my year, which seems hard to believe!
This post, however, is to give a recap of the past two months. Without further ado...
FEBRUARY
8 - Read-a-thon (Burroughs Elementary School, Minneapolis): I read Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, M is for Music, and The Jazz Men to a class of 5th-graders
9 - Pay it Forward (Medina): I was a celebrity dealer for this casino night fundraiser to support breast cancer patients and families. Assigned to Baccarat, I felt a little unsure at first, but I caught on quickly and had a great time - and the event raised over $80,000!
10 - Miss Coon Rapids/Miss Anoka County Pageant (Coon Rapids): Congratulations to Colleen Meyer, the new Miss Anoka County, and Cori Shellum, the new Miss Coon Rapids!
16 - Rodney Alfred Photo Shoot (St. Louis Park): Love these gowns. Seriously.
17 - Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Clinic (Minneapolis): I presented at the Advocacy breakout session.
22 - Chippewa Middle School (Mounds View school district): A day of presentations and workshops with all the orchestra students, including some visiting elementary schoolers. I was so impressed with Connie Aiken, the orchestra teacher - she teaches with such joy!
23-24 - Miss Twin Cities Pageant (White Bear Lake): Congratulations to Cindy Neseth, the new Miss Twin Cities!
MARCH
1-3 - Robbinsdale Residency (Robbinsdale school district): Worked with students at Cooper and Armstrong High Schools and performed a solo at the district Spring Festival.
3-4 - Minneapolis Home & Garden Show (Minneapolis): I assisted at the S&S Tree & Horticulture Specialist booth - my dad is one of the senior certified arborists. (He's a tree doctor.)
5-7 - Mounds View Residency (Mounds View school district): Visited orchestra students at Edgewood Middle School, Irondale High School, and Valentine Hills Middle School; also gave two school assemblies at Pinewood Elementary.
6-7 - Friendly Hills/Heritage Middle School (South St. Paul): I was a guest adjudicator for two middle school orchestras.
8 - Minnesota Arts Advocacy Day (St. Paul): 500 Arts Advocates descended upon the State Capitol to meet with our elected officials and ask for increased funding for the Arts.
- Lake Conference Arts Festival (Bloomington): I performed "lobby music" during a gallery showing of top high school artists from the Lake Conference
10 - Minnesota's Junior Miss Program (Apple Valley): I was Minnesota's Junior Miss in 2001, and it's a treat to return to the program every year as special entertainment. Congratulations to Nora Ali, Minnesota's Junior Miss 2007!
11-13 - National Arts Advocacy Day (Washington, DC): A team of 14 Minnesotans ventured to DC to ask our elected officials at the national level for their support of the arts. This includes NEA funding, arts in education programs, charitable contribution laws for artists, and the position of the arts in No Child Left Behind. I also got to see my fellow Mu contestant - Kate Michael, Miss DC. It was fantastic to catch up with her!
13 - Mounds View Concert (The Great Hall at Bethel University, Arden Hills): My mom picked me up from the airport as I flew in from DC and drove me straight to this performance, which went off without a hitch! Hallelujah for clear weather and no traffic!
14 - State Capitol (St. Paul): I met with Representative Mark Buesgens, who is the Academic Director for the Saint Paul Conservatory, a charter high school with a strong emphasis on the arts. Rep. Buesgens is looking into starting a similar program in an elementary school setting south of the river.
16 - My dad got laser surgery on his eyes! Edina Eye Physicians and Surgeons is a fantastic Miss Minnesota sponsor, and after seeing how my new vision has changed my life, my dad decided to take the plunge. He's now seeing better than he did with his glasses or contacts!
18 - Dakota Valley Symphony (Lakeville): I performed Telemann's Viola Concerto with the DVS, and was pleased to see so many students I had worked with at various schools attending the concert!
20-24 - Colburn Conservatory Audition (Los Angeles, CA): Since I'll be crowning a new Miss Minnesota in just over 2 months, it's time for me to be making some preparations for life after the crown... I've wanted to attend Colburn for a few years, and I've recently received official word that I've been accepted into their Professional Studies Certificate program. California, here I come! Also, I met with the Educational Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (I had met her at National Arts Advocacy Day) and got a tour of the beautiful Disney Concert Hall (which is conveniently right across the street from Colburn). And... I got to hang out with my brother and sister - so excited to live near them again!
24-25 - Great River Strings (Crosby-Aitkin): This was such an amazing weekend, I don't really have adequate words to describe it. This small community of 5,000 in north central Minnesota has a civic orchestra with over two doezn performers! We gave two performances (I performed solo, solo with orchestra, and as a member of the viola section) to two amazingly appreciative audiences. Lynn Foote was the coordinator of this event, Rich Aulie conducts the orchestra, and the Bast family hosted me for the weekend - to you and everyone else who made me feel welcome, thank you. It was a blessing to be a part of your community for a weekend!
27 - Miss Minnesota Board Meeting (Minneapolis): We're putting finishing touches on plans for Contestant Forum - it's going to be fun!
29 - Young Audiences of Minnesota (St. Paul): I'll be the celebrity emcee for an upcoming event in May, so I met with the Executive Director of the program and the chairperson for the benefit. More on this in a separate post.
And just like that, it's April!
Thanks for your patience in waiting for updates (and for your diligence if you've actually gotten to the bottom of this post!). I will be blogging at least weekly from now on, and as the Miss Minnesota Pageant approaches, I'll be showcasing each one of the fantastic contestants competing for the crown and the job of Miss Minnesota 2007.
Love to all -
Nicole
My time as Miss Minnesota can be divided into 4 sections: 1) post-MissMN insanity, 2) Miss America prep, 3) post-Miss America recovery, and 4) pre-MissMN windup. The work I've done with my platform has been the one constant throughout every segment, though the number and frequency of appearances has definitely varied from month to month. With Contestant Forum next weekend, we're cruising right along into section 4 of my year, which seems hard to believe!
This post, however, is to give a recap of the past two months. Without further ado...
FEBRUARY
8 - Read-a-thon (Burroughs Elementary School, Minneapolis): I read Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, M is for Music, and The Jazz Men to a class of 5th-graders
9 - Pay it Forward (Medina): I was a celebrity dealer for this casino night fundraiser to support breast cancer patients and families. Assigned to Baccarat, I felt a little unsure at first, but I caught on quickly and had a great time - and the event raised over $80,000!
10 - Miss Coon Rapids/Miss Anoka County Pageant (Coon Rapids): Congratulations to Colleen Meyer, the new Miss Anoka County, and Cori Shellum, the new Miss Coon Rapids!
16 - Rodney Alfred Photo Shoot (St. Louis Park): Love these gowns. Seriously.
17 - Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Clinic (Minneapolis): I presented at the Advocacy breakout session.
22 - Chippewa Middle School (Mounds View school district): A day of presentations and workshops with all the orchestra students, including some visiting elementary schoolers. I was so impressed with Connie Aiken, the orchestra teacher - she teaches with such joy!
23-24 - Miss Twin Cities Pageant (White Bear Lake): Congratulations to Cindy Neseth, the new Miss Twin Cities!
MARCH
1-3 - Robbinsdale Residency (Robbinsdale school district): Worked with students at Cooper and Armstrong High Schools and performed a solo at the district Spring Festival.
3-4 - Minneapolis Home & Garden Show (Minneapolis): I assisted at the S&S Tree & Horticulture Specialist booth - my dad is one of the senior certified arborists. (He's a tree doctor.)
5-7 - Mounds View Residency (Mounds View school district): Visited orchestra students at Edgewood Middle School, Irondale High School, and Valentine Hills Middle School; also gave two school assemblies at Pinewood Elementary.
6-7 - Friendly Hills/Heritage Middle School (South St. Paul): I was a guest adjudicator for two middle school orchestras.
8 - Minnesota Arts Advocacy Day (St. Paul): 500 Arts Advocates descended upon the State Capitol to meet with our elected officials and ask for increased funding for the Arts.
- Lake Conference Arts Festival (Bloomington): I performed "lobby music" during a gallery showing of top high school artists from the Lake Conference
10 - Minnesota's Junior Miss Program (Apple Valley): I was Minnesota's Junior Miss in 2001, and it's a treat to return to the program every year as special entertainment. Congratulations to Nora Ali, Minnesota's Junior Miss 2007!
11-13 - National Arts Advocacy Day (Washington, DC): A team of 14 Minnesotans ventured to DC to ask our elected officials at the national level for their support of the arts. This includes NEA funding, arts in education programs, charitable contribution laws for artists, and the position of the arts in No Child Left Behind. I also got to see my fellow Mu contestant - Kate Michael, Miss DC. It was fantastic to catch up with her!
13 - Mounds View Concert (The Great Hall at Bethel University, Arden Hills): My mom picked me up from the airport as I flew in from DC and drove me straight to this performance, which went off without a hitch! Hallelujah for clear weather and no traffic!
14 - State Capitol (St. Paul): I met with Representative Mark Buesgens, who is the Academic Director for the Saint Paul Conservatory, a charter high school with a strong emphasis on the arts. Rep. Buesgens is looking into starting a similar program in an elementary school setting south of the river.
16 - My dad got laser surgery on his eyes! Edina Eye Physicians and Surgeons is a fantastic Miss Minnesota sponsor, and after seeing how my new vision has changed my life, my dad decided to take the plunge. He's now seeing better than he did with his glasses or contacts!
18 - Dakota Valley Symphony (Lakeville): I performed Telemann's Viola Concerto with the DVS, and was pleased to see so many students I had worked with at various schools attending the concert!
20-24 - Colburn Conservatory Audition (Los Angeles, CA): Since I'll be crowning a new Miss Minnesota in just over 2 months, it's time for me to be making some preparations for life after the crown... I've wanted to attend Colburn for a few years, and I've recently received official word that I've been accepted into their Professional Studies Certificate program. California, here I come! Also, I met with the Educational Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (I had met her at National Arts Advocacy Day) and got a tour of the beautiful Disney Concert Hall (which is conveniently right across the street from Colburn). And... I got to hang out with my brother and sister - so excited to live near them again!
24-25 - Great River Strings (Crosby-Aitkin): This was such an amazing weekend, I don't really have adequate words to describe it. This small community of 5,000 in north central Minnesota has a civic orchestra with over two doezn performers! We gave two performances (I performed solo, solo with orchestra, and as a member of the viola section) to two amazingly appreciative audiences. Lynn Foote was the coordinator of this event, Rich Aulie conducts the orchestra, and the Bast family hosted me for the weekend - to you and everyone else who made me feel welcome, thank you. It was a blessing to be a part of your community for a weekend!
27 - Miss Minnesota Board Meeting (Minneapolis): We're putting finishing touches on plans for Contestant Forum - it's going to be fun!
29 - Young Audiences of Minnesota (St. Paul): I'll be the celebrity emcee for an upcoming event in May, so I met with the Executive Director of the program and the chairperson for the benefit. More on this in a separate post.
And just like that, it's April!
Thanks for your patience in waiting for updates (and for your diligence if you've actually gotten to the bottom of this post!). I will be blogging at least weekly from now on, and as the Miss Minnesota Pageant approaches, I'll be showcasing each one of the fantastic contestants competing for the crown and the job of Miss Minnesota 2007.
Love to all -
Nicole
posted by Nicole @ 1:28 PM
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