MacPhail Center for Music is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 McKnight Fellowship for Musicians: Helen Chang Haertzen, Kyle Motl, Michael Ward-Bergeman, and Room3.
Administered by MacPhail for the past 30 years, the McKnight Fellowship for Musicians is one of Minnesota’s most significant awards for mid-career musicians. The fellowship provides unrestricted $25,000 awards that recognize artistic excellence and support the continued creative growth of Minnesota artists. This year’s fellows represent a remarkable breadth of musical practice, spanning classical performance, contemporary improvisation, world music, jazz, and genre-defying collaboration.
Selected from a pool of 88 applicants, the four fellows emerged through a competitive review process that included work samples, artist statements, and resumes. Nine finalists were identified by a panel of experienced music professionals before four fellows were ultimately selected.
In addition to the four fellows, five finalists will each receive a $1,000 award:
- Ernest Bisong of Maplewood – Violin (Jazz)*
- Gao Hong (Hong Gao Dice) of Northfield – Chinese Pipa (Traditional and World Music)
- Laamar (Geoffrey Wilson) of Minneapolis – Voice, Guitar, Saxophone (Singer-Songwriter)
- Patti Cudd of Woodbury – Percussion (Percussion and Electronics)
- The OK Factor (Olivia Diercks and Karla Peters) of Minneapolis – Cello/Violin (New Classical Crossover)
*MacPhail Faculty Member
2026 McKnight Musician Fellows
Helen Chang Haertzen (Hopkins)
Violin – Classical
Helen Chang Haertzen is a violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra and has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Staatsorchester Braunschweig. She was a former titled chair member of the Bamberger Symphoniker in Germany and toured all over Europe. Helen has recorded the Bach Solo Partitas with Cavalli Records and was a producer and artist for American Avenues on Centaur Records. She performs as a guest with various ensembles, most recently with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass at the Ravinia Festival. She is a grant recipient of the Artist Initiative funded by the MN State Arts Board. Helen studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Salzburg Mozarteum in Austria. In her free time, Helen enjoys teaching and is a strong advocate for the next generation of professional musicians.
Kyle Motl (Minneapolis)
Double Bass – Improvisation / Contemporary Music
Kyle Motl is a bassist, composer, and improviser whose playing is noted for both “iridescent delicacy as well as abrasive force” (The Wire). His music “promise[s] to change us by revealing things we could never have imagined” (Free Jazz Collective). Motl’s work spans composed and improvised musics, including performances and recordings with Anthony Davis, Clucas/Motl/Hubbard, the Peter Kuhn Trio, Treesearch, Zarabanda Variations, International Contemporary Ensemble, and others. He is assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he teaches double bass and contemporary music practices.
Michael Ward-Bergeman (Morris)
Accordion – World Music / Jazz / Folk
Michael Ward-Bergeman is a passionate performer, songwriter and composer. His sensitive and creative approach to music making has led to performances and collaborations with world-class musicians and composers from across a wide range of genres. Michael aims to remain faithful to the spirit that unites many of the world’s richest music traditions while continuing to develop his own unique voice.
Room3 (Minneapolis)
Ensemble – Jazz Fusion
Room3 is a jazz fusion wild card rooted in tradition yet driven by experimentation. Their sound is imaginative, melodic and rhythmically compelling, mixing elements of contemporary jazz, prog rock, funk and more. The collective operates out of Minneapolis, with Eli Awada on keyboards, Wormdove (aka Beck Anderson) on bass, RAWTWHYLAH (aka Colin Mitchell) on drums, Evan Espinoza Robles on percussion and Mike Green on guitar. Room3 has performed consistently at prestigious venues across the Twin Cities, from Dakota to the First Avenue Main Room, for over three years, and they were recently selected as one of First Avenue’s “Best New Bands of 2024.” Their debut album, “Bill’s Garden,” is out now.