A member project of the North Star Community Foundation.
Partnering with communities to provide a safe environment for creative exploration and expression.
Healing Through Music and Dance (HTMD) shares skills to create music and dance; clears a path for safe and creative expression of feelings; and begins trauma recovery. HTMD returns to communities to build lasting relationships through trust and open dialogue.
By listening to the needs of communities and youth, HTMD uses music and dance to foster connectedness and self-expression in a safe and creative environment. HTMD offers interactive workshops, concerts, and dance opportunities in communities.
“Our village and especially our children are grateful and so blessed, to have Mike Stevens spend time with us. He is amazingly talented and brings so much energy, joy and happiness to our community!
The kids walk the streets and play their harmonica’s for days after his trip here. Music is so important in the lives of our children, it brings them alive and makes them happy! We all need music in our lives.”
— Cynthia Erickson, founder of My Grandmas House, Tanana, AK
Mike Stevens has been appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest honours!
“Mike Stevens is a virtuoso harmonica player, composer, and author. For more than 40 years, he has entertained audiences nationally and abroad and won acclaim at the world-famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. His music tours in Canada’s North are the subject of three documentaries that showcase his philanthropy and prodigious musical gifts.”
Learn more about the Order of Canada and its remarkable appointees here.
Not only did he turn the economics around and mend fences with local musicians, he then developed the string intensive, and collaboratively, the opera intensive, partnered with the Composing in the Wilderness program, and all of the outreach programs.
Mike Stevens was with the FSAF American Roots division when he performed with the FSAF orchestra. Robert gave young string players and singers an opportunity to perform with an orchestra for the first time.
Thank you for your support of HTMD and FSAF and for joining us in honoring Robert’s legacy.
To make a gift in memory of Robert Franz, use the link below and choose a dedicated donation:
https://nscfundalaska.org/donations/htmd/
or mail a check to:
Healing thru Music & Dance, c/o NSCF
745 7 th Avenue
Fairbanks, AK 99701
Please include in the memo: Robert Franz Memorial Fund
AND/OR
https://www.fsaf.org/moneyrequest?id=2
Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival
PO Box 82510
Fairbanks, AK 99708
Please include in the memo: Robert Franz Memorial Scholarship Fund
In remembrance of Robert Franz (1968-2025), the Healing through Music and Dance (HTMD) Program of North Star Community Foundation (NSCF) and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival (FSAF) will present a tribute concert on Friday, April 3, 2026 at 7:30pm at the UAF Charles Davis Concert Hall in Fairbanks, AK.
The program will feature HTMD Harmonica Man Mike Stevens, FSAF alumni and other musicians who wish to honor Robert. Details will be posted here and on our website as they become available. If interested in participating, please contact Terese Kaptur at healingthrumusicanddance@gmail.com
Robert’s commitment to bringing the music to the people is the inspiration for this HTMD program. Terese Kaptur, currently HTMD Program Director and retired FSAF Director, brought Robert to AK to lead the financially struggling FSAF orchestra program and serve as Music Director.
This project is funded in part by the Alaska Mental Health Trust.
HTMD is supported in part by Creative West and the National Endowment for the Arts.
