Dear Cedar Friends, 

We’re pleased to share our 2019 Annual Report with you. It’s a little different this year, which is largely a response to the great challenges 2020 has presented us. Instead of a glossy print piece via mail in late spring, it’s simpler, it’s digital, and it’s late! However, in pulling together our report, we were struck by the immensity of what was accomplished in 2019. Our multi-year Midnimo funding culminated with two extraordinary projects, we debuted a stellar lineup of six new works by our Cedar Commissions artists, and we launched our inaugural year of the Artist Collective - all of which you can read more about in the report below. We also presented over 200 shows featuring artists from around the world, and hosted more local artists than ever before.

THANK YOU to our volunteers, audience members, donors, artists, and staff for making it happen.  

In addition to reflecting on the past, we must reimagine the future, and envision how to move forward together. The unprecedented challenges faced by our industry combined with calls locally and globally to confront systems of oppression must be addressed by The Cedar. To move forward meaningfully as an organization, we must be willing to adapt and change. We are focusing on programming and practices that will allow us to be more inclusive, and are finalizing our first formal value statements as an organization. We’re visioning for a future in which justice and safety are deeply embedded in our work. We believe this will all make The Cedar and our community even stronger when we emerge.

In the following report, you’ll find quotes, photos, and programming highlights, along with notes on our financials and our behind-the-scenes efforts. As you review the past year, we ask you to engage with us as we contemplate change. We ask you to join us in considering what truly resonates now. What do we want to take forward with us? I invite us all to create space for the momentum of change in our community to breathe new life into our future at The Cedar and beyond.

Thank you so much for your continued support as we enter our 32nd Season. We know that music has a role to play in the journey ahead, from spreading messages and organizing communities, to sparking healing, joy, connection, and change. Thank you for being with us on this journey, and may our future be filled with all the best that music has to offer.

Sincerely,

David Hamilton
Executive Director

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

This past Season, The Cedar continued its 31-year commitment to uplifting global legends and brilliant new voices through our mainstage performances and programs including The Global Roots Festival, a free annual music festival featuring artists from around the world; The Cedar Commissions, a commissioning series for Minnesota-based artists; Midnimo, a program that presents Somali artists in performances, residencies, and youth programs; and the Artist Collective, a group of six artist advisors who serve as paid curators and cultural liaisons to The Cedar.

GLOBAL ROOTS FESTIVAL

From September 23rd-25th, The Cedar presented its 11th annual free, family-friendly Global Roots Festival. The lineup featured the hypnotic women-led Tuareg blues of Les Filles De Illighadad; Afro-Argentinian reggae icon Fidel Nadal with Mr. Pauer; masterful Korean percussionist Kim So Ra; Dublin folk miscreants Lankum; Chadian-Canadian Afrofuturist electro-fusion DJ AfrotroniX; and Jordanian-Palestinian shamstep trailblazers 47SOUL.  

In addition to free, all-ages performances in the evenings, another highlight included “Inside the Music: AfrotrnoiX x Greg Grease,” a conversation featuring AfrotroniX with 2019 Cedar Artist Collective member Greg Grease that illuminated his production process, the themes of his songwriting, and the cultural roots behind his sound. The event took place at Slam Academy, a school for the digital music arts in Northeast Minneapolis, and was livestreamed by Minnesota Community Network 6 for free access to the online public. 

Another memorable highlight was when Kim So Ra accepted an invitation from the resident elders of the Korean Services Center down the street from The Cedar to present an interactive performance on-site, followed by a traditional Korean lunch. The 40 elders were overjoyed - they sang, danced, and talked jovially with the musicians over lunch. But it especially pleased the artists, who hadn’t had home-cooked Korean food since the launch of their tour!

THE CEDAR COMMISSIONS

In 2010, The Cedar launched The Cedar Commissions to support the creation of new work by Minnesota artists with support from the Jerome Foundation. Since then, the program has commissioned more than 60 emerging composers and musicians, resulting in some of the most innovative and thought-provoking work we’ve presented on our stage, all by artists from our own local community.  

For six months in 2019, the cohort of six artists met monthly for mentorship and peer-support as they created new work that pushed their own boundaries and explored a variety of themes and inspirations, including family legacies and immigration histories, traditional Ethiopian azmaris, women of the Holocaust, immersive Afrodiasporic sounds and Black queer/trans joy, Black America’s past and present, collective action, and so much more. On February 21st and 22nd, 2020, these artists debuted their work in a two-night series at The Cedar.

Midnimo

Midnimo, the Somali word for “unity,” was launched in 2014 in partnership with Augsburg University. To date, Midnimo has reached over 21,500 audience members in Minneapolis, Mankato, and St. Cloud with residencies, educational programs, and events featuring legendary and up-and-coming Somali artists from around the world. This breakthrough program was supported over the years in part by significant funding from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters; Building Bridges: Arts Culture and Identity, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. This multi-year funding culminated in the spring in 2019 - and we closed it out on a high note! We presented two incredible projects that featured international artists in deep collaboration with local musicians and youth that had a reverberating impact.

FAARROW RESIDENCY

Toronto-based Somali sister pop duo FAARROW have been charting their own course as artists for years. Walking away from the commercial constraints of a major music deal at the dawn of their career, they pushed forward as independent artists with an unwavering commitment to speaking their truth. Creating music, launching a podcast, and championing authenticity and empowerment in everything they do, they’ve inspired young people across the globe. For their Midnimo residency in April 2019, FAARROW teamed-up with local Afro-futurist wizards Astralblak to tour through Minneapolis, Mankato, and St. Cloud, sparking deep conversations and uplifting experiences in each city. The residency culminated with the debut of the artists’ musical collaboration. Together, they delivered a transcendent live show that had a packed house dancing with joy and energy, landing their month-long visit City Pages’ award for Best Residency in 2019.

UBADKAA MUDNAANTA LEH

London-based Afro-pop star Aar Maanta is no stranger to Minnesota. Developing a relationship through multiple visits to The Cedar over the years, in 2018 he dove headfirst into a landmark project that would cement his connection to our neighborhood and youth. Over the course of a year, Aar Maanta and over 30 young people from Cedar Riverside worked to create the first-ever bilingual Somali/English children’s album! Following a series of songwriting, album art workshops, and multiple visits to the recording studio, Ubadkaa Mudnaanta Leh (Somali for “Children Have Priority”) was released with a live performance in March 2019. The album infuses traditional Somali songs and lullabies with hip-hop influenced beats, spoken word, and poetry, written and performed by Aar Maanta and Cedar Riverside’s next generation of artists.

Special thanks: We’d like to give a special thank you to the contracted Cedar staff, Abdul Ibrahim (Tour Manager and Promoter, Midnimo), Nastalie Bogira (Program Manager, Midnimo Residencies), and Khadro Mumin (Artist and Audience Engagement Coordinator) who helped make these projects a success!

MIDNIMO CONTINUES

Minnesota is home to some of the best musicians and singers from Somalia. One artist we’re especially lucky to have at right in Minneapolis is legendary Somali percussionist, Harbi. With a history of performing with some of the most prominent popular bands of Somalia, including Maryan Mursal, Dur Dur Band, Waaberi Group, and more, Harbi has chops. His passion is sharing the traditional music of Somalia here in Minnesota, particularly with youth. In September 2019, as a member of The Cedar Artist Collective, Harbi curated Somali Traditional Night, a late-night show that featured his own Thunder Band, alongside the Somali Museum Dance Troupe, and Caasho Buranburtooy, who gave Cedar audiences a rare opportunity to experience traditional buraanbur poetry and dance on stage. Later that fall, he launched a dream project - a series of music classes for Somali youth! Partnering with a local daycare, each week Harbi and guest vocalists and instrumentalists visited a daycare in which dozens of children learned and celebrated their heritage through music with hands-on art making and direct mentorship.

Midnimo Consortium Partners

ARTIST COLLECTIVE

In January 2019, The Cedar launched the Artist Collective, a group of six artists who had participated in The Cedar Commissions or Midnimo to serve as paid year-round curatorial artists and cultural liaisons to The Cedar. Building on the roots of their own community-engaged art practice, they embarked on a year of curating programming, influencing internal systems, and challenging “business as usual” practices at The Cedar, with the ultimate goal of increasing meaningful and lasting community connections. 

The experiment proved a success. Each artist curated a unique program or series designed to create lasting and meaningful connections with artists and audiences at The Cedar. Together, these projects reached 1,800 audience members of a range of ages and backgrounds and featured over 180 local artists, many of whom were performing at The Cedar for the first time. In addition, the Artist Collective helped shape the proposal process for The Cedar Commissions to improve access and inclusivity. They contributed to discussions on defining "global music," and offered insight into what they hoped to see on The Cedar’s stage, now and into the future.

Behind the Scenes

Values and Inclusion

While The Cedar was known externally for the many incredible shows that graced our stage throughout 2019, we also took time to reflect on ourselves as an organization and as individuals, continuing to identify areas to work on to better connect across complex identities. Last year, Cedar staff met bi-weekly for “Safer Cedar” meetings, where staff discussed internal challenges around race, gender, and other aspects of identity. We completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as a groundwork to tailor our individual work on bridging differences. We also worked as a team to draft a set of collective values as part of a larger effort to shape The Cedar’s first published value statements, which we expect to complete this year. As 2020 continues, we are reflecting on the areas and procedures within our organization that need an overhaul, and which harmful standard industry practices we want to leave in the past, which will be supported by a commitment to racial justice drafted and adopted by The Cedar Board.

Staff

David Hamilton : Executive Director 
Emmy Carter : Booking Director
Mark Johnson : Director of Events
Michael Lord : Assistant Director of Events
Jared Hemming : Volunteer Coordinator / Events Assistant
Robert Lehmann : Marketing and Booking Manager
MJ Gilmore : Box Office and Office Manager

Contract 

Bridgit Jordan : Part Time Accountant
Sarah Johnson : Part Time Accountant
Deb Ervin : Interim Development Director

Special thanks to former staff, contractors, and house managers who moved on to new adventures since last season ~ Jess Rau, Dave Paulson, Mary Delorié, Maya Beck, Alana Horton, Diane Waller, Morgan Bertinet, and Kaitlyn Knapp ~ you are missed and you each left an indelible mark. Thank you!

House Managers

Dan Beers
Patrick Larkin
Craig Otto
Joshua Koepp
Sue Eidem
Sandy Jahn
Jordan Olsen
Eli Wheeler
Sydney Larson
Emma Allen 

Board of Directors

Jill Dawe, Co-President : Music Department, Augsburg University
Steve Katz, Co-President : Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLC
Brent Hickman, Vice President : Senior Vice President, Head of Strategic Capital Management, US Bank
David Edminster, Treasurer : Former Data Manager, Travelers (Retired)
Faysal Abraham : Chief Operating Officer, Atomic Data Centers
Jessica Kopischke : Vice President of Compliance, Renters Warehouse
Rob Nordin : Former Vice President Philanthropic Specialist, Wells Fargo (Retired)
Shétu Rose : Vice President of Finance and Operations, Center for Economic Inclusion
Rob Salmon : Former Attorney, Meagher & Geer (Retired)
Mary Laurel True : Service Learning & Community Engagement, Augsburg University
Maryam Yusefzadeh : Program Manager, Optum

Board Advisory Committees

Finance Committee

David Edminster*
Brent Hickman*
Shétu Rose*
Chuck Tatsuda

Development Committee

Rob Nordin*
Brent Hickman*
Maryam Yusefzadeh*

*Current board member

2019 Financial Report

In 2019, we rebounded from a -$58,000 budget deficit in 2018, ending the year with a budget surplus of $14,000. This was the result of a concerted effort to adopt new budgeting and accounting procedures and to become a leaner organization with fewer staff.  Going forward, a decrease in the availability of corporate and foundation dollars towards the arts will further necessitate that The Cedar place greater emphasis on individual donors and other revenue streams. We expect this trend will continue during 2020 and beyond.

Volunteers

The Heart of The Cedar

450 volunteers contributed over 4,100 hours of their time to The Cedar in 2019. 

Volunteers run our concessions and the merch table, set up for shows, and clean up afterwards. Those chairs you’re so fond of? Volunteers haul them out and back for over half our 200+ shows each year. They do the glamorous work of mopping the floor and cleaning the bathrooms. Volunteers also work carefully with our Events Staff to make sure everyone who comes to The Cedar feels welcomed. We quite literally couldn’t do it without them. 

Many of our volunteers have been supporting The Cedar in this unique way for decades. They know the artists we have the closest relationships with, they know the quirks of our historic space and our neighborhood, they know each other and the staff. The Cedar’s volunteers are very much “the heart of The Cedar”. 

We also have dozens of new volunteers join The Cedar family each year. When we’re able to safely resume shows, we’re going to need all hands on deck. If you think of The Cedar as a community gem and are feeling called to support it, or are looking to add a sense of community in your life, volunteering is a great option!

To start volunteering, or for more information, contact volunteer@thecedar.org, and we’ll be in touch when we open back up.

Cedar Donors and Members

The Cedar would like to thank our donors and members for their generous support.

Current as of September 1, 2020.
Memberships are reflected for the year they were initiated.
Please contact Deb Ervin at development@thecedar.org with any questions.

2019

CROWN $10,000+

Anonymous
Creative Endeavors Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation
Robyn Hollingshead
Steve Katz and Jennifer Leopold
The McVay Foundation

CANOPY $2,500-$9,999

Brent Hickman and Anne Bauers
Mark Gilberstadt
Johanna Hill
Joe Hoopman
Jill Dawe and Sarah Johnson
Rob Simonds and Karen Margolis
Rob and Carol Salmon

HEARTWOOD $1,000-$2,499

Anonymous (3)
Bruce Schneier and Karen Cooper, Cooper Schneier Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Anthony Creamer III
David Edminster
David Hamilton
Michael and Karel Helgeson
Sandra and Gary Jahn
Robert Nordin and Nancy Kosciolek
Aili Langseth
Nancy and Nate Molenda
Stanley Mros and Marcy McIntyre Mros
Scott Nieman
Kevin and Cathy Palmer
David and Susan Sanborn
Hugh Pruitt and Fariba Sanikhatam
Elizabeth Shaw ✝
Joseph Buck and Corinne Shindelar
Craig Futterer and Terri Simard
Guy and Candice Stearns
Chuck and Jennifer Tatsuda
Mark Warnken, Warnken Family Charitable Fund
Maryam Yusefzadeh-Keer

BRANCH $500-$999

Anonymous
Archer Bondarenko Munificence Fund 
Pat Fair and Randy Arnold
Austin Mutual Insurance Company Foundation
Candace Campbell
The Coggins Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Arne and Jessica Cook
Russell Cowles
Louise Robinson and Neal Cuthbert
Elizabeth Dachelet
John and Sanja deGarmo
Mary Delorié
Mark and Janet Ditter
Kathy Jursik and Chris Dronen
Sue and Chris Eidem
Lucas Erickson Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Michael Welch and Elaine Eschenbacher
Charlotte M. Forsythe Fund
Everett Forte
Monica Gross
Ron and Anne Hoffman Family Fund of The Minneapolis
Foundation
Michael Hopfenspirger
Alana Horton
Steven Kerbaugh
Tracy Van Steenburgh/James W. A. Ladner
Jim Howitt and Ann Lewandowski
Heidi Lemke
Erik Lillestol
Julian Manzara
Tom Hatch and Stacy Mattingly
Robert Meisel
Nancy and David Michael
Susan Haugh and Jane Miller
The Moosehorn Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation
Rick and Jan Neville
Janice Gepner and Eric Newman Charitable Gift Fund
Tom Mueller and Art Punyko
Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard
Galen Hersey and Darcy Sudderth
Jim and Laurie Tschida
S. Van Koughnett 
Karen White
Ann Whittemore

ROOTS $100-$499

Anonymous (2)
Judith Napier and Bryan Aaker
Jim and Claire Abbott
Acoustic Electric Strings
Todd and Allyson Aldrich Family Charitable Fund
Kevin Alexander
Jim Almendinger
Margit Anderson
Allan Angen
John Anthonisen
Tim Arnett
Thaddeus Austin
Jennifer and Philip Bailey
Bob Barnes
Rebecca Bauer
Karla Larsen and Ken Bearman
Chris Beaty
James Bialke
David Bowler
Jonathan Bredin
Patricia Bolger and Debra Broderick
Mark and Jen Brouwer
Richard Brown
Ann and Tom Buratti
Ron Marquis and Lois Carolan
Barb and Gene Case
Marian and Keith Champlin
Terry and Laurie Christiansen
Andrew Clark
Karen Collyard
Amy and Nate Conger-Benton
Andrew and Mary Coulter
Virginia Dale
Catherine and Stuart Dalton
Paul Dalton
Mike Deeney
Jim and Linda Dobbs
Paul Dragsten
John Du Cane
Andy Eng
Doris Engibous
Paul Epton
Brad Kruse and Kim Faurot
Nicholas Finstrom
Jerry Fjerkenstad
Susan Flygare
Michael Forsman
Nicole and Eric Frost
Chris Frymire
Rita and Jim Gaubert
Maryanne Gay, in memory of James Gay
Christopher and Marisa Geisler
R. Worth Frank and Amy Gilbert
Ken and Mary Gleason
Sally Godfrey
Robert Goepel
Mattie Goldberger
Beth and Don Greenebaum
Charlie Greenman
Loren and Mary Ann Gross
Julie Bluhm and Stephen Gumnit
Angela and Brian Gustafson Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Eric Gustin

2020

CROWN $10,000+

Anonymous (2)
The McVay Foundation

CANOPY $2,500-$9,999

Brent Hickman and Anne Bauers
Ron Elwood and Bonnie Esposito
Mark Gilberstadt
Joe Hoopman
Steve Katz and Jennifer Leopold
Rob and Carol Salmon

HEARTWOOD $1,000-$2,499

Elizabeth Dachelet
Mary Delorié
Mattie Goldberger
Rosemary and David Good
Lili Hall
Michael and Karel Helgeson
Sandra and Gary Jahn
James Johnson
Allen Lenzmeier and Kathy Lenzmeier
Dan Miller
Nancy and Nate Molenda
Scott Nieman
Kevin and Cathy Palmer
David and Susan Sanborn
Hugh Pruitt and Fariba Sanikhatam
Craig Futterer and Terri Simard
Chuck and Jennifer Tatsuda
Noreen and Stephen Walen Thompson
Andy Tso
Kerrianne Blevins and Michael Walstrom

BRANCH $500-$999

Anonymous
David and Irene Alderson
John Anthonisen
Pat Fair and Randy Arnold
Anastasia Bamford, in memory of Sandra Brekhus
Syneva Barrett
Barb and Gene Case
Arne and Jessica Cook
Paula Cooney
Louise Robinson and Neal Cuthbert
John and Sanja deGarmo
David DeMoss
Sue and Chris Eidem
Nicholas Finstrom
Laura Flynn
R. Worth Frank and Amy Gilbert
Steven Kerbaugh
Adam Kim
Jonathan Kirsch
David Lee
Jim Howitt and Ann Lewandowski
Erik Lillestol
Robert Meisel
The Moosehorn Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation
Patrick Murphy
Brian Poulton
Galen Hersey and Darcy Sudderth
Julia Tabbut
Rosa Werthwein
Walter and Karen White

ROOTS $100-$499

Anonymous (3)
Judith Napier and Bryan Aaker
Jim and Claire Abbott, in memory of Robert "Bud" Armstrong
Lora L Abe
Faysal Abraham
Jay Adams
Silver Ainomae
Morris Allen
James Anderson
Sandra and Richard Anderson
Dennis and Kathleen Anderson
Greg Anderson
Laura Arneson
Collin Arnett
Murphy Baker
Alex Bartley
Rebecca Bauer
Nicole Pettit and Dan Beers
Margaret Belew
Hannah Bergman
Steven and Nancy Berlin
Michele Bevis
Mark Bower
Erik and Hanna Brandt
Lydia Brosnahan, in honor of Karl and Angela
Mark and Jen Brouwer
Marcia Brower
Dustin Cahill
Douglas Cain
Jay Carlson
Tyler Carlson
Michele Carstens
Marian and Keith Champlin
Leo Christenson
Kristina T. Clark
Karen Collyard
Jennifer Sippel and Jonathan Colville
Luann Conroy
Alicia Cozine
Robert Cozzolino
Phillip Cryan
John Daniels
Angie Simonson and Tony Drollinger
David Dvorak
David Edminster
Lucy and Mark Elliott
Andy Eng
Doris Engibous
Joe Erickson
Joe Eskola
Julie Farnham
Kyle Feldman
Abby Fenton
Susan Flygare
Helen Forsythe
Joseph Frank
John Frost
Marisa Gage
Mark Giorgini
Evan Goldenrod
Jed B. Gorlin
James Manolis and Emily Green
Emily Greene
Carla Hagen
Maggie Haltvick
Matthew Harris
Christopher Henze
Bernard Herberholt
Julia Hobart
John and Christine Hoffman
John Horchner
Alana Horton
Alexander Hurd
Helene Huver
Matthew Ides
Debbie and Jim Ingebretsen
Stacy Jacobsen
Steve Jewell
Deborah Jewett

THANK YOU to the following companies for matching employee donations to The Cedar in 2019 – 2020:

Aetna Foundation, Allina Health, Ameriprise Financial, Best Buy Match Program, Boston Scientific Corporation, GiveMN, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, Red Hat, Saint Paul Travelers, Thomson Reuters, The 3M Company, U.S. Bancorp Foundation, VMware, Wells Fargo.

✝ Deceased

Current as of September 1, 2020.
Please contact Deb Ervin at development@thecedar.org with any questions.

The Cedar Gratefully Acknowledges
OUR FUNDERS AND PARTNERS

THE CEDAR IS SUPPORTED BY

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Additional support provided by McVay Foundation.

Global Roots programming is supported by

The Cedar Commissions is supported by

The Artist Collective is supported by

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Midnimo is supported by

This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters; Building Bridges: Arts Culture and Identity, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage.

Lead funding for Ubadkaa Mudnaanta Leh provided by The Joyce Foundation.

Your Support Makes a Difference

Checks made out to The Cedar may be mailed to:
416 Cedar Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55454

Or become a Cedar Member!

Gifts of $100+ make you a member of the “inner circle.” Member perks include free tickets to select shows, access to favorite musicians, merch, and more. Learn more here.