St. Olaf Choir

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St. Olaf Choir
Choir
File: St. Olaf Choir singing in Boe Chapel
OriginNorthfield, Minnesota, U.S.
Founded1912 (112 years ago)
Genrea cappella, classical, gospel
Members75
Chief conductorAnton Armstrong
AffiliationEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
Websitewww.stolafchoir.com

The St. Olaf Choir is a premier a cappella choir based in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1912 by Norwegian immigrant F. Melius Christiansen, the choir has been influential to other church and college choirs for its performance of unaccompanied sacred music.[1] Conducted since 1990 by Anton Armstrong, there have been four conductors in the choir's 112 year history.

Description

Previously founding the

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.[2] In the 1920s, the St. Olaf Choir began touring regularly after a highly acclaimed tour of the East Coast. Subsequent tours, recordings, and radio broadcasts spread the group's fame among the choral community, transforming the Midwest into a hotbed of choral activity.[1]

In 1943,

Oberlin Conservatory. After 27 years as conductor, Olaf retired in 1968. .[3]

The third conductor of the St. Olaf Choir was

Seoul, South Korea
.

In 1990, Anton Armstrong became the fourth conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. Graduating in 1978, Armstrong also sang in the choir under his predecessor. He was considered well suited for the position, having written his doctoral thesis on the legacy of the ensemble. Armstrong further broadened the choir's performance repertoire by emphasizing worldly music, American spirituals, and occasional secular pieces.[1]

The St. Olaf Choir is perhaps best known for its annual performances in the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, which airs annually on national and international radio and television. Furthermore, the choir is known for closing nearly every performance with its signature piece,

Beautiful Savior. In 1998, the St. Olaf Choir was chronicled in a book by historian Joseph Shaw.[1]

Notable Performances

Since the 1920s, the St. Olaf Choir has performed on annual tours domestically throughout all regions of the United States. The choir has attracted capacity audiences at venues such as

Orchestra Halls of Chicago and Minneapolis. Furthermore, the choir travels internationally every four years, with previous performances in Scandinavia, Great Britain, France, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia.[4]

In 2005 the St. Olaf Choir performed at the

President George W. Bush to commemorate The National Day of Prayer. That same year, the choir performed in the final concerts of the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, only to sing the next day in an acclaimed performance at New York's Carnegie Hall.[5] Internationally, the choir has performed at the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival, the Strasbourg and Bergen Music Festivals, and the closing concert of the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music in Minneapolis
.

In 2007, the choir appeared in a live simulcast of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, which showed on more than 180 movie theatres across the nation and reach 2.5 million viewers on a later

Trondheim, Norway. The special won 2 regional Emmy Awards in 2014.[4]

Also in 2007, the St. Olaf Choir's recording of "Lacrimosa" from Mozart's Requiem appeared in a television commercial for Nike to promote their new Air Jordan XXII shoes.[6]

Discography

The St. Olaf Choir has recorded 27 full-length albums, and has been included on numerous other recordings (such as yearly recordings of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival).

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Phillip Brunelle (2012-02-09). "St. Olaf Choir: Setting a century-long gold standard for choral singing". minnpost.com. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  2. ^ Fred G. Schmidt. "The Founding of the St. Olaf Lutheran Choir Tours of 1912 and 1913". Shaw-Olson Center for College History, St. Olaf College. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  3. ^ "Olaf C. Christiansen". ACDA of MN. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  4. ^ a b c "About The St. Olaf Choir". St. Olaf College. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  5. ^ Anne Midget (2005-02-10). "A Midwestern Choral Group to Whom Words Matter". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  6. ^ "St. Olaf Choir gives extra lift to Nike ad". St. Olaf College. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  7. ^ "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid". IMDB. Retrieved 2016-10-21.

External links

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