On Oct. 11, 2025, Chanhassen High School student Miriam Gilbertson competed in the Minnesota Sings competition in Austin, MN. She won first place in the 13-20 age division with her performance of “The Wizard and I” from the hit musical “Wicked.”
To qualify for the state contest, Gilbertson first won the Eden Prairie Sings competition on Aug. 17, 2024. Her winning song that day was “Defying Gravity,” also from “Wicked.”
Gilbertson has performed in several local productions, including Elsa in “Frozen Jr.” (Eastern Carver County Schools) and Anne Boleyn in “SIX” (Youth Performance Company). She also performed with the teen band Supernova for two years including a trip to Memphis, TN in June 2025.
Minnesota Sings winners receive a cash award as well as a chance to record a few songs at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minn.
“The recording session was super cool,“ Gilbertson said. “Nirvana recorded there. It was really surreal to know that I had recorded in the same studio as so many famous bands and singers before me. It was my first recording session and it was a lot of fun.”
The winners could also choose a favorite local charity to receive a $500 donation. Gilbertson chose Hope House, an emergency shelter for teens in Chanhassen. Gilbertson, along with Minnesota Sings Representative Chuck Spavin presented the check to the Open Hands Foundation on Nov. 23, 2025.
“I feel that it’s important, first of all, for teens to support other teens,” she explained. “And the fact that this is the only shelter for teens in our county really caught my attention.”
Hope House is run by a partnership of the Open Hands Foundation, 180 Degrees and Westwood Community Church. The current Hope House has been operating since 2015. The home has six beds and they turn away twice as many youth as they are able to serve.
Hope House recently broke ground on a new building. According to Rodney Provart, Executive Director of Open Hands Foundation, this building “will allow them to serve more teens and offer more services in a building carefully designed to support healing, collaboration and safety.”
To learn more about Hope House and their expansion, visit their website (https://openhandsfoundation.com/).
