Montana Arts Council Members

Angella enjoys living in Bozeman, Montana, where she is currently Associate Professor of Violin and Viola at Montana State University. A devoted teacher, she was named a “Most Valuable Professor” by Montana State University as well as being awarded “Professor of the Month” by Mortar Board, an honor society at the university. Angella has had an extensive career with her trio, Ahn Trio, performing not only in every state in the U.S., but in over 30 countries in venues as diverse as the White House, the Jazz Dock in Prague, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, New York's Lincoln Center, Leipzig's Gewandhaus, Beijing's Concert Hall, Istanbul's Aya Irini, and for TEDWomen. In addition to live performances, they have nine highly acclaimed albums. Angella serves on the Montana Arts Council and is the Artistic Director of Big Sky Classical Music Festival. She can be seen in “Angella Ahn & Friends,” a program presented by Montana PBS’ Emmy award-winning 11th & Grant with Eric Funk, also in “The Hive”, a film produced by Tippet Rise Art Center in collaboration with the celebrated sculptor Stephen Talasnik and director Matthew McKee. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music. 

Ahn Trio: TEDWomen2010
Tippet Rise: "The Hive"
Ahn Trio: Nuvole Bianche

Liz is the Executive Director for the Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG), a nonpartisan, nonprofit dedicated to affecting positive change by empowering Montana's next generation of civic leaders. Prior to that position, she worked in the Montana legislature as a legislative aide and as a family law attorney in Lake County, Montana. She has a Bachelors of Arts in Business Management from Simmons University with a minor in Arts Administration in addition to a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maine School of Law. Liz lives in Missoula's Westside neighborhood with her husband, Charlie, their dogs, Toast and Jack, and a fluctuating amount of chickens.

Cyndy is an active community and board member, avid arts supporter, and has worked in the tourism industry for over 25 years.  Cyndy is a member of the Bozeman City Commission currently serving in her second term as mayor. She has served on the city commission since 2000. She is one of only four women to serve as mayor and is the recipient of the 2018 Bozeman Business and Professional Women, Woman of Achievement Award.  

She is the governor-appointed chair of the Montana Arts Council and serves on the National League of Cities board of directors and the board of trustees for the Western States Arts Federation. In addition, she is the past chair (2013) of the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Council, where she served ten years. Cyndy is a graduate of Leadership Montana (Class of 2007) and is a lifelong lover of travel, culture, and the culinary arts.

Sarah Calhoun is the owner of Red Ants Pants, the executive director of the Red Ants Pants Foundation and the producer the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. The festival is in its tenth year and draws tens of thousands to a cow pasture in Meagher County. It was named the Event of the Year by the Montana Office of Tourism. From her home in the small town of White Sulphur Springs, she has become an inspiration to entrepreneurs nationwide and is known for her dedication to supporting rural communities, the arts, and women’s leadership. In 2018 she was named to the Montana Business Hall of Fame. In 2012, named the National Women in Business Champion for the SBA. She has been invited to the White House twice, and honored when Governor Schweitzer named her the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year for the State of Montana. She has given two TEDx talks, dozens of keynote addresses, and has gained national press such as CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Sunset, Entrepreneur, National Geographic, The New York Times and The Huffington Post.

Corky is a celebrated contemporary artist, teacher, mentor, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and has recently retired as the art director at Salish Kootenai College. Corky’s work has been exhibited across the nation and around the world, and in addition to his many other honors, he was awarded the 2008 Montana Governor’s Arts Award for Visual Art.

Tom is retired after 18 years as the Managing Director of Grandstreet Theatre in Helena, where he oversaw the production of more than 150 mainstage performances and the growth of a nationally recognized theatre school directed by Tony nominated director Marianne Adams. A Journalism graduate of the University of Montana, Tom acted and served on numerous theatre boards while working at the Great Falls Tribune, with the CM Russell Art Auction, and as advertising director for Montana Magazine in Helena. He currently chairs the volunteer-member Citizens’ Advisory Board as community overseers for Lewis & Clark County’s judicial services.

Sean is an enrolled member of the Aaniinen Tribe (Gros Ventre), is the Director of American Indian Studies at Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC) located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. He also teaches the Aaniiih (Gros Ventre) Language to grade-school-aged children at the White Clay Language School at ANC. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art and a Master of Arts in Native American Studies from Montana State University-Bozeman. He recently acquired a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from The University of Montana in May of 2014.

JP founded Filmlites Montana in 1989. A veteran lighting designer/director who has worked throughout the country, JP has worked on a majority of commercials or film productions that have come through Montana for the last twenty-five years.

Wylie Gustafson is an American Original. The singer, songwriter, rancher, horseman, and world-famous Yahoo! yodeler leads the musical outfit known as Wylie and the Wild West. The group is internationally known for their vibrant presentation of the music—both original and traditional—of America and its colorful West. They delight audiences around the world with their one of a kind brand of music, including elements of cowboy, traditional country, western swing, folk, and, of course yodeling. Wylie is a real life cowboy born into a 4th generation ranching family on the empty sprawl of Northern Montana. He is a member of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Montana Pro Rodeo Wall and Hall of Fame. He’s the real deal and, as one music writer quipped, “All old school without being a tired period piece.”

Tracy Linder is a sculptor that has shown her art work nationally with numerous solo museum exhibits. Linder has given a TEDx talk, been commissioned by GSA Art in Architecture, and taught at MSU-Billings. Her MFA is from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

www.tracylinder.com
TEDx Talk

Linda Netschert is the owner and publisher of Farcountry Press and Sweetgrass Books. Linda bought Farcountry Press, an award-winning regional book publishing company, in 2011 after a career spent selling their books throughout the West and managing book sales and marketing for Lee Enterprises’ national publishing program. A Montana native with a degree from Western Montana College, Linda has been a manager in retail, theatre, and the hospitality industry before joining Farcountry Press as a sales rep more than 25 years ago. Throughout her book publishing career, she has nurtured book professionals from across the country, especially Montana authors, photographers, and illustrators. Through Sweetgrass Books, the same staff helps others custom publish their own books. When she is not working, Linda can be found on the lake, in the mountains riding & driving her horses, and enjoying her ever-growing menagerie of farm animals.

Jay taught theatre at Havre High School for twenty years and continues to do so at Montana State University-Northern. A playwright and director, Jay has been the Artistic Director of The Montana Actors Theatre since 1992 and is a member of the Havre City Council.

Angela Russell, a member of the Crow Tribe, has spent her life involved in health, social, and political issues for the Crow Nation and the State of Montana. She served four terms in the Montana House of Representatives, one term with the newly created Crow Tribal Legislature, and served as Chief Judge for the Crow Tribal Court. Ms. Russell actively participated in the National Council of Native American Legislators and served as an officer of the Native American Court Judges Association. She was a co-organizer of the Apsáalooke Committee for the Arts promoting and supporting local artists and craftsperson’s. She published the Apsáalooke Calendar for thirty years, which featured early Crow photographs and history, poetry, and artwork. Public service has included serving as Chair for the Friends of Chief Plenty Coups, as a trustee of the Big Horn County Library Association, and as a member of the Montana Board of Crime Control. Ms. Russell received a bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana and a Master’s Degree from Tulane University.

A lifetime arts educator, Dr. Renée Westlake ended her career in public school music teaching and supervision of arts programs by developing a consulting and mentoring business to serve educators and student leaders.  Renée has held leadership roles on various non-profit arts boards, including the Montana Ballet Company, Bozeman Symphony, Arts Without Boundaries, and the Montana Chamber Music Society.  Dr. Westlake is an active clinician at state music education conferences and serves as an adjudicator at district and state music festivals.  

westlakeeducationalconsulting.com

Founder of Montana Trails Gallery in Bozeman, Steve Zabel grew up on a ranch in the Madison Valley and began his art career by publishing prints of work by his father Larry Zabel, the respected western wildlife painter. Montana Trails Gallery has operated from several locations on Bozeman’s Main Street and has long been a mainstay of Montana’s western art scene, earning a reputation for its strong historic collections which include work by Charles M. Russell, Frederic Remington, Joseph Henry Sharp, and others.