Congratulations to Marcia Benson and Heidi Hansen, winners of MFMC’s Adult Composers Critique 2010 and 2011.

Marcia Benson and Heidi Hansen are a team; they have been a composing team for three years. Each of them brings a different perspective (and flavor) to their compositions.

Marcia started singing in church at age four. She studied piano and violin and has continued advanced study with several teachers including Kay Carlson, Tom Allen, and Paul Wirth. She has a private piano studio in both Clearwater Minnesota and Alexandria Minnesota, where she works as a church musician at Shalom Lutheran Church.

Heidi is a church musician and choral director at South Santiago Lutheran Church in Clear Lake Minnesota. She has a BS degree in Vocal Music Education from St. Cloud State University, and a MM degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of St. Thomas. She has a private studio in Becker, Minnesota, where she teaches piano, flute, voice, and Musikgarten classes.

Together they formed Dolce Dolls LLC, where they create and sell custom designed music. Some of their solo pieces include Crazy for Cupcakes, Playing Soccer with Julie, Grandma’s Feather Hat, Samantha’s Locket, and Erin’s Encore.

Their two winning pieces, titled BoogElise and Hot Diggity Dog, will be featured at Schmitt Music's Spring Recital Workshops 2012.