Faculty Listing
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Steven Amundson is in his 28th year on the faculty of St. Olaf College where he is Professor of Music and Conductor of the St. Olaf Orchestra. He also teaches courses in music theory, ear training and conducting, and conducts the Philharmonia. Before his arrival to Minnesota, Amundson held conducting posts at the University of Virginia, Tacoma Community College, and as Music Director of the Tacoma Youth Symphony. He is the also founding conductor of the Twin Cities' based Metropolitan Symphony that he led for five years, and served as Music Director and Conductor of the Bloomington (MN) Symphony from 1984 – 1997. He has held posts on the conducting faculty for the Interlochen National Arts Camp, the Lutheran Summer Music Program and has served as guest conductor for many All-State orchestra festivals throughout the United States. In Minnesota, Amundson has appeared as guest conductor with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. A commissioned composer and arranger, Amundson is published by MMB Music and the Neil A. Kjos Music Co. His self-published compositions are available through Tempo Music Resource. His orchestral works have received over 400 performances by university, civic and professional orchestras in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia including the Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, Toronto and BBC Symphonies. A 1977 graduate of Luther College, Amundson obtained the Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, and did further studies at the University of Virginia, the Aspen Music School and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. In the 1980 International Conducting Competition hosted by the Mozarteum and Austrian National Radio, Amundson won the first (Hans Häring) prize. In 1992, the Minnesota Music Education Association named him "Minnesota Orchestra Educator of the Year." In 1995, Amundson received the Carlo A. Sperati Award from Luther College in recognition of his meritorious achievement in the field of music. |
Kathryn Ananda-Owens, Associate Professor of Music: Piano. B.A., Oberlin College (Phi Beta Kappa); B.M., Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Pi Kappa Lambda); M.M., Peabody Conservatory of Music; D.M.A., Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Julian Martin. Previous teachers include Robert McDonald and Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein, in addition to collaborative studies with Earl Carlyss and Ellen Mack, and summer studies with Sergei Babayan and Paul Schenly. Winner of first prize in the 1993 Neale-Silva Young Artists Competition, Ananda-Owens enjoys an active career as performer, teacher, and lecturer. A laureate of the American Pianists Association Biennial Fellowship Competition, she made her Asian debut in 1997 under the auspices of the government of Macao. Her European debut took place the following year in Vienna. Ananda-Owens has appeared as a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, toured internationally with the St. Olaf Orchestra, and collaborated with flutist Alison Potter in performances at Lincoln Center. A founding member of the New Horizons Chamber Ensemble, Dr. Ananda-Owens performs regularly as the pianist of the Melius Trio, has recorded with violinist Hector Valdivia, and collaborated with members of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in the inaugural concerts of the North American Bridge Festival. Her concerts have been broadcast on radio and television on three continents. An expert on the keyboard cadenzas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, she is currently at work on a book on the subject. Ananda-Owens is actively involved with the Performing Arts Medical Association, and serves on the association's Education and Research Committee. She has been a member of the St. Olaf College faculty since 1997. |
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During 2008-2009 Dr. Armstrong will serve as conductor of All-State Choirs in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. In December 2008, he presented a three-day seminar in Israel on the topic of “The Hebrew Characters in the African American Spiritual,” at the Invitation of the Israeli Choral Directors Association in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. Also, he is leading choral festivals in the Smetana Hall, Prague, Czech Republic, as well as Carnegie Hall, New York, and the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.. Additional guest conducting and lecturing engagements this season include appearances in Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Texas, and Kentucky. |
 Christopher AspaasAssistant Professor of Music — Voice and Choral Conducting Conductor of Chapel Choir and Viking Chorus aspaas@stolaf.edu Dr. Aspaas received his M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and his B.M. in Voice Performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Dr. Aspaas recently completed his Ph.D. in Choral Music Education at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He was the Interim Director of Choral Studies at Central Washington University. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Aspaas was on the faculty of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. While there, he conducted the Concert Choir and Cantamus, taught private applied voice and choral conducting. Additionally, Dr. Aspaas served as Acting Director of Choral Activities in 2000-2001 and conducted the Glee Club and Chamber Choir, who performed the Durufle' Requiem and Bach's Mass in B Minor. Since 2001, Dr. Aspaas has sung with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus in Eugene, Oregon, under the direction of Helmuth Rilling. He has recently performed as a soloist with Rilling and the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in master classes with Ingeborg Danz, John Wustmann and Bradley Ellingboe, and remains active as an adjudicator, clinician and researcher. |
 Christopher AtzingerAssistant Professor of Music — Piano atzinger@stolaf.edu Christopher Atzinger, a native of Jackson, Michigan, has performed in Austria, Italy, France, Spain, and Canada in addition to performances across the United States highlighted by concerts at Carnegie Hall (Weill), the Dame Myra Hess Series, and the Phillips Collection. His artistry has also been broadcast on Chicago’s Live from WFMT and Minnesota Public Radio, and he has recorded for MSR Classics. He has performed at the Banff International Keyboard Festival, Brevard Music Festival, and the Chautauqua Institution, in addition to giving lectures and masterclasses across the county. A medalist of the New Orleans International Piano Competition, the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, and the Nina Plant Wideman International Piano Competition, Mr. Atzinger has been praised by critics for his “personal interpretive vision” and “virtuoso aplomb”. In addition to degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan, he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. He counts among his teachers Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Anton Nel, David Renner, and Carolyn Lipp, among others. Former faculty at Dickinson College, (PA) |
 Barbara Barth Academic Administrative Assistant — Music Department barth@stolaf.edu |
 Linda BergerAssociate Professor of Music — Music Education berger@stolaf.edu Berger received a bachelor's degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from St. Olaf College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in music from the University of Minnesota. Berger is especially interested in contemporary music methods and the child voice. She studied Dalcroze eurhythmics under Robert Abramson of the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. Berger was named Minnesota Classroom Music Educator of the Year in 1990 and taught in public schools for more than twenty years before joining the St. Olaf College faculty. She is an active keyboard performer and music education presenter. |
 Miranda Bryan Assistant to Music Organizations/Business Accounting Coordinator bryan@stolaf.edu |
 David Carter Professor of Music — Cello carter@stolaf.edu http://www.stolaf.edu/people/carter Cellist David Carter is Professor of Music at St. Olaf College. He holds degrees from the University of Minnesota, Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Carter's principal cello teachers include Robert Jamieson, Gary Hoffman, Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.
Dr. Carter can be heard on Centaur Records in “3 Pieces for Solo Cello” by Phillip Rhodes and works by Amy Beach, and on the Limestone label with the Melius Trio. |
 David Castro Assistant Professor of Music — Theory dcastro@stolaf.edu Assistant Professor, David Castro, received a B.Mus. in Music Education from Pacific Union College in 1998, a M.M. in Music Theory from The University of Arizona in 2000, and earned his Ph.D. in Music Theory at the University of Oregon in 2005. His doctoral dissertation, advised by Jack Boss, was titled, “Sonata Form in the Music of Dmitri Shostakovich.” In it, Castro examines Shostakovich’s adroit handling of a tonal form while maintaining his own unique post-tonal voice. Castro’s analyses also support hermeneutic interpretations when such readings are appropriate. Castro continues to examine Shostakovich’s music, having presented numerous papers at Music Theory conferences nationwide. He is also conducting research into the employment of Schenkerian notions of prolongation to examine Twentieth-century compositions, particularly for the works of those composers who employ neo-tonal compositional techniques, including non-functional triadic harmony and free counterpoint. |
 Laura CavianiInstructor in Music - Jazz Piano caviani@stolaf.edu Laura Caviani, B.M. Composition, Lawrence University, where she studied with Fred Sturm and Rodney Rogers. M.M. in Improvisation, The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where she co-taught and studied with Ed Sarath and bass legend Reggie Workman. She has extensive teaching experience, including St. John's University, the Universities of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and Stevens Point, The University of St. Thomas, and many middle schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul through the "Harman How to Listen Program", an outreach program co-founded by Wynton Marsalis. The Minneapolis Star Tribune hailed her debut recording, Dreamlife, as: “...in a word, outstanding”. Marian McPartland found it “...sparkling and inventive”. Her second release, As One, nominated for a 1999 Minnesota Music Award, was touted as “stunningly fresh” by Jazz Times. Her holiday album, Angels We Haven't Heard, was considered “this season's finest new jazz CD of holiday music” by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Caviani has performed and recorded with Concord recording artist and vocalist Karrin Allyson, and has toured with the Concord Jazz Festival featuring Oleta Adams, Diane Schuur and Sara Gazarek. Locally, she has performed with many fine artists in the Twin Cities, including: Lucia Newell, Pete Whitman's Xtet, Prudence Johnson, Debbie Duncan, among others. Her compositions include numerous works for jazz ensembles, the Sax Quartet JazzAx, as well as orchestral works for both the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. |
 Beth ChristensenProfessor — Music Librarian christeb@stolaf.edu Christensen received a B.M. from Illinois State University, Master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois, and a Master’s degree in musicology from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the Music Library Association (has served as MLA Board member, Program Chair, and is currently a member of the Personnel Subcommittee), the Music Library Association’s Midwest Chapter (has served as Chapter Chair and is currently chairing the Bylaws Committee), and the Society for American Music. Research interests include information literacy in music and early twentieth-century American music. She has published articles in American Music, Notes, Research Strategies, and Reference and User Services quarterly. |
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Anna Clift, teaches cello at both Carleton College and St Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota. She is dedicated to music education and has been a mentor and teacher to many young musicians in the Twin Cities area. She has served on the faculty of well-respected music schools and summer programs including, The St Paul Conservatory of Music, Artaria Chamber Music School, Stringwood, Taos International School of Music, Madeline Island Music Camp and St Olaf Music Camp. She studied at Indiana University for her BM in Music Performance with the legendary pedagogue and performer Janos Starker. She went on to receive her MM in Music Performance from SUNY at Stony Brook on scholarship to study with Beaux Arts Trio cellist Bernard Greenhouse. Other notable musicians and mentors have been, Raymond Davis, Toby Saks, Gary Hoffman, Josef Gingold, Paul Tortelier, and Menahem Pressler. Anna has played as an extra player with the Minnesota Orchestra since 1989 and has extensive orchestral experience. She gives clinics and sectionals for the Minnesota Youth Symphonies, and other orchestral organizations for young players. She spent 2007/08 as conductor of the Northfield High School Orchestra, and has plans for more conducting this coming year. As a professional cellist, she frequently collaborates with musicians from both the Minnesota Orchestra and St Paul Chamber Orchestra and has appeared in chamber concerts and on the radio with such artists as Gil Shaham, Sharon Isbin, the Artemis Trio and the Artaria String Quartet. As a former member of the Artaria String Quartet Anna has performed in series and venues throughout the United States. She has participated in many summer programs and festivals, Banff School of Fine Arts, Spoleto Festival, Washington Island Music Festival and the Britt Music Festival. |
 Mary DavisPerformance Librarian Mechanical Rights Administrator of St. Olaf Records davisms@stolaf.edu |
 Dan DressenProfessor of Music — Voice and Lyric Diction Associate Dean for Fine Arts dressen@stolaf.edu http://www.stolaf.edu/people/dressen Dan Dressen is a professor of music and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts at St. Olaf College, earning a B.S. from Bemidji State University and an M.F.A. and D.M.A. from the University of Minnesota. At St. Olaf he is currently developing a center for Nordic art song. He edited a seven-volume anthology of opera arias by Benjamin Britten for Boosey and Hawkes and currently serves on the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music and as a site visit panelist for the Minnesota States Arts Board. He serves on the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission and on the board for the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of the Edvard Grieg Society. Dr. Dressen’s career as a tenor spans more than thirty years. His operatic performances include appearances with Washington Opera, Cleveland Lyric Opera, Nautilus Music Theatre and the Minnesota Opera with whom he was heard recently as the Doctor in Poul Ruder’s A HANDMAID’S TALE, the world premier of THE GRAPES OF WRATH by Ricky Ian Gordon and in the American premier of THE FORTUNES OF CROESUS by Reinhard Keiser. In the 2009-10 season he will appear in CASANOVA’S HOMECOMING (Dominick Argento) and SALOME (Richard Strauss) with Minnesota Opera. An active concert performer and recitalist, Mr. Dressen has performed in Minneapolis and St. Paul with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Chorale, Dale Warland Singers, Bach Society, and recently in the Schubert Club’s Summer Art Song Festival. He has a long and active relationship with VocalEssence and at Plymouth Congregational Church as tenor soloist. |
| Margaret Eaves-Smith, Associate Professor of Voice, B.M., M.M. in Vocal Performance, Cleveland Institute of Music; student of George Vassos. Soprano, Margaret Eaves-Smith, a native of Havre, Montana, was first recognized as a rising talent early in her career when she received the Artist Award from the National Association of Teachers of Singing in 1973. She has achieved both national and international awards in the Regional Metropolitan Opera, S-Hertogenbosch, and Geneva vocal competitions as well. She has sung with the L'Orchestra de la Suisse Romande and the Minnesota Orchestra, and under the direction of James Levine, Louis Lane, Margaret Hillis and John Rutter. Her coaches have included George London, Elly Ameling, Gerard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, and James King both in the United States and Europe. Additional study includes master classes in Graz, Austria and Aldeburgh, England. Before her tenure at St. Olaf, she taught on the faculty of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. With many years experience as a recitalist, adjudicator and with special interest in the performance of lieder, chanson, and oratorio, Margaret has served as a dedicated teacher to St. Olaf students since 1979. In May of 2004, Ms. Eaves-Smith was the recipient of an alumni achievement award for excellence in teaching from the Cleveland Institute of Music. |
 Andrea EenAssociate Professor of Music — Violin and Viola een@stolaf.edu http:// www.andreaeen.com Een earned a D.M.A. in violin performance and literature from the University of Illinois. She has studied violin with Theodore Brunson, Marilyn Box, Dorothy DeLay, Paul Rolland, Eduard Melkus, and Paul Kantor, and viola with Louis Kievman. Een has also studied chamber music with members of the Hungarian and Walden String quartets. She has a special research interest in the Norwegian folk Hardanger fiddle and has been featured on National Public Radio and on Norwegian National Television performing and talking about emigrant fiddle traditions. She is a member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the Plymouth Festival Orchestra, and a frequent chamber music performer on violin and viola. Een has performed as a solo and chamber musician in Norway, France, Germany, Austria, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica. |
 Julia ElkinaInstructor in Music - Piano elkina@stolaf.edu With a Diploma of Distinction in Piano Performance, Julia Elkina came to the United States in 1993 and studied under Professor Alexander Braginsky at the University of Minnesota where she earned her doctoral degree in Piano Performance. Ms. Elkina is particularly famed for her duo-piano work with her twin sister Irina. The Elkinas won first prize in the 1992 International Duo Piano Competition, Citta di Marsala in Italy. This triumph was soon followed by their success in the Murray Dranoff competition, the largest duo-piano competition in the world, where they shared the top prize and received the special award for best performance of the commissioned work — Taschyag by Paul Schoenfield. Ms. Elkina has performed throughout the United States, playing in New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, New Orleans, and at the Oregon Bach Festival and multiple orchestral appearances by the Elkinas with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Recent major engage-ments included sixteen performances at Lincoln Center in New York, playing Stravinsky's Petrushka with her sister in a live theater and music collaboration with performance artist Basil Twist and nine puppeteers. A frequent guest with her sister on National Public Radio, she has performed on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor several times, as well as on the nationally syndicated Saint Paul Sunday music program. |
 Alison FeldtAssociate Professor of Music — Voice and Vocal Pedagogy Department Chair feldt@stolaf.edu Feldt received a B.A. from Luther College, and M.A. in vocal music and pedagogy from the University of Iowa, and a D.M.A. in vocal performance from the University of Minnesota. Her additional study has been with Kerstin Meyer, Rita Streich, and Rudolf Knoll of the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria. Feldt has won numerous awards, including first place in the 1992 and 1995 Minnesota District NATS Artist Award Voice Competition, first place in the 1990 Minnesota - Western Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera auditions, first place in the 1989 Opera/Lied Competition from the city of Salzburg Cultural Foundation, and first place in the 1989 Operetta Competition in Salzburg, Austria. Special interests lie in the performance of lieder, chanson, and opera. |
Ferguson earned a B.M. from Oberlin, an M.M. from Kent State University, and a D.M.A. from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Russel Saunders. His responsibilities include directing the church music-organ program, teaching organ and conducting the St. Olaf Cantorei. Ferguson came to St. Olaf in 1983 from Minneapolis where he served Central Lutheran Church as Music Director and Organist, an appointment accepted in 1978 after a 15-year tenure on the music faculty at Kent State University. While at Kent State he also served as Organist-Choirmaster of the United Church of Christ, Kent, Ohio during which time he served as music editor for the United Church of Christ Hymnal, 1974. He has spent summers as visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and was invited to spend sabbatical leave time as visiting professor at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He is respected as a fine teacher and performer, and his skill as improviser and leader of congregational song has received national acclaim. Each year he prepares and leads many festivals across the country both for local congregations and professional gatherings. A Ferguson hymn festival is much more than an inspiring organ recital, according to Emily Brink, Past President of the Hymn Society, "He involves everyone present in a glorious community of sound. Everyone gets to perform." Dr. Ferguson is the author of numerous books and articles on church music and organ building. His choral and organ music is published by Augsburg, Concordia, Galaxy, G.I.A., Hope, Kjos, Morning Star, Selah and Stainer and Bell. In 2005 his composition, “Who Is This” for choir and viola was awarded the prestigious Raabe Prize for excellence in sacred composition. Since joining the St. Olaf faculty, Ferguson's skills as choral conductor and creative arranger have become more widely known. He brings a special combination of experience as choral singer (Oberlin College Choir under Robert Fountain), church musician (both part-time and full-time) and participant in the St. Olaf choral tradition to his workshops in conducting and repertoire for church choirs which are considered highlights at conventions of professional organizations. He has been invited to design and present hymn festivals for national and regional conventions of both The American Guild of Organists and The American Choral Directors Association as well as many national gatherings of church musicians. He has presented such events abroad as well both in Asia (Seoul, Korea) and Europe (in the National Cathedral of Norway, Nidaros Dom, Trondheim, as a part of the celebration of the millennium of the birth of St. Olaf). |
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 Linda Frost Music Library Associate frost@stolaf.edu |
 Tracey GormanInstructor in Music — Voice gorman@stolaf.edu With a voice the Boston Globe called “extraordinary in range, tonal quality, musicianship, and dramatic effect, “soprano Tracey Gorman has gained a reputation for excellence in opera, recital, and concert. Ms. Gorman has performed operatic roles with the Minnesota Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and performed as soloist with the Minnesota Choral Union, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Milwaukee Bel Canto Chorus, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Aria Group. Ms. Gorman has also won numerous awards including the Austin Lyric Opera Young Artist Competition in Austin, Texas, the Milwaukee Bel Canto Chorus Regional Artist Competition, the Minnesota NATS Artist Award, and was a regional finalist in the 2002-2003 Metropolitan Opera Auditions. Ms. Gorman performed with the St. Olaf Orchestra at Alice Tulley Hall and performed Britten’s War Requiem with the Chapel Choir and the St. Olaf Orchestra. Ms. Gorman spent two summers as a Vocal Fellow at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center where she coached with Phyllis Curtin, Dawn Upshaw, Martin Katz, Ken Griffiths, and Lucy Shelton and has performed the music of several of the worlds most prominent contemporary composers. Ms. Gorman earned a B.M. degree in both vocal performance and K-12 vocal music education from St. Olaf College, a M.M. degree from the University of Minnesota and is currently completing her D.M.A. under the tutelage of Glenda Maurice at the U of MN. |
 Charles GrayProfessor of Music — Violin and Viola gray@stolaf.edu Gray earned a B.M. from Wheaton College, an M.M. from the University of Michigan, and he received a chamber music certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where he pursued additions study on viola. His principal study was with Paul Makanowitzky and Sylvia Rosenberg (violin), with Atar Arad (viola), and with the Cleveland Quartet (in chamber music). Gray was the violist of the Casella String Quartet, winner of the 1981 Cleveland Quartet Competition and the 1983 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. He has performed as a solo recitalist at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and as a chamber musician at the Aspen Music Festival and the Steamboat Springs Festival in Colorado. Previously a member of the Rochester Philharmonic (N.Y.) and the Grand Rapids Symphony (Mich.), and concertmaster of the Bloomington Symphony (Minn.), Gray is currently a substitute member of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He is also employed on the music staff of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Mahtomedi, Minn. In recent years he has been featured as a violin and viola soloist on many occasions with the St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Cantorei, and St. Olaf Orchestra. In September 2008, he was awarded "2008 Minnesota Master String Teacher of the Year" by the American String Teachers Association. |
 David HagedornArtist in Residence — Percussion, Theory, and World Music Director of Jazz Ensembles hagedord@stolaf.edu http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/music/percussion Hagedorn earned a B.S. in music education from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Marv Dahlgren and Paula Culp of the Minnesota Orchestra; an M.M. in percussion performance from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Vic Firth of the Boston Symphony; and a D.M.A. in percussion performance from the Eastman School of Music, where his principal teacher was John Beck. Hagedorn has recorded with the George Russell Living Time Orchestra on Blue Note Recordings and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on Teldec Recordings. He regularly performs in a jazz oriented percussion duo, Schag, with Dave Schmalenberger and does freelance work in the Twin Cities with groups such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble, and Plymouth Music Series. |
 Mary HakesAssistant Director of Admissions and Music Admissions Coordinator music@stolaf.edu |
 Kathee HanscomAcademic Administrative Assistant — Music Department hanscom@stolaf.edu |
Hanson received a B.A. in music from Wells College, Aurora, NY and master’s and Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Illinois, Champaign, IL. She studied at Universität der Stadt Wien at Vienna, Austria, under a Fulbright-Hayes grant. Her specialty is the music of Vienna during the 18-20th centuries, but she also has interests in opera and American music. Her publications include a monograph on Music in Biedermeier Vienna (Cambridge University Press) and articles for Music and Letters, Anterem, and in the Oxford Biographical Dictionary of Music. |
 J. Robert HansonVisiting Professor of Music — Trumpet hansonjr@stolaf.edu J. Robert Hanson (BM, Concordia College; MA, MFA, PhD, University of Iowa) taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before joining the music faculty at Concordia College in 1966. He conducted the Concordia College Band for eight years and was the founder and conductor of the Concordia College orchestra from 1967 until his retirement in 1995. Hanson was also the conductor of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra from 1974 to 1990. During his tenure the symphony received four ASCAP awards for “Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music.” An accomplished trumpet player, Hanson has an extensive background in performance, which included playing principal trumpet with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. As a composer, he has written works for orchestra, band, and other instrumental and vocal ensembles. Recent compositions include commissioned works for the Minnesota All-state Orchestra, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, the Twin Cities Suburban Festival Orchestra, the Grand Forks Central and Red River High School Bands, and six anthems for three churches in Willmar, Minn., as part of the Church/Synagogue Residency program sponsored by the American Composers Forum. |
 Janis HardyAssociate Professor of Music — Voice hardyj@stolaf.edu Janis Hardy, a native Minnesotan, has performed leading roles for many of our country’s major opera companies including the Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Boston Opera, Wolftrap Center for the Performing Arts and Kansas City Lyric. As a member of Minnesota Opera’s Resident Ensemble for more than ten years, she sang roles created for her in many world premieres including Argento’s Postcard from Morocco and Susa’s Transformations as well as many traditional roles, including Cherubino, Dorabella, Mrs. Peachum and Widow Begbick. Soloing with orchestras, she has been conducted by, among others, Neville Marriner, Klaus Tennstedt, Dennis Russell Davies, Hugh Wolff and Aaron Copland, and by Philip Brunelle in VocalEssence since its inception. As a guest soloist she has appreared with many organizations including Minnesota Orchestra, The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Sioux Falls, Duluth and Kansas City symphonies. As a festival soloist, she has appeared with the Aldeburgh Festival in England, The Oregon Bach Festival, The Cabrillo Music Festival in Aptos, California, The New Texas Festival and Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest. Among her discography, are a solo album of Copland’s Old American Folk Songs and Grieg’s Haugtusa as well singing the role of “Ma” in Copland’s Tender Land for Virgin records and “Sister” in Larsen’s In A Winter Garden. Ms Hardy’s concert repertoire reflect her eclectic interests, ranging from all of Bach’s passions, most of Handel’s oratorios to premieres of works by Randall Davidson and Libby Larsen. Ms Hardy has been a frequent guest on Minnesota Public Radio’s, A Prairie Home Companion as well as collaborating with Garrison Keillor in concerts and recordings. She has also collaborated with Bobby McFerrin on an opera project, libretto by Tony Kushner. Her acting credits include Theatre de la Jeune Leune, The Children’s Theater, Frank Theater and Theater Latte Da. Ms Hardy can be heard each August, along with her good friends Maria Jette, Molly Sue McDonald and Dan Chouinad in the popular “Sopranorama” performances at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis. She is also the founder and artistic director of The Theater Playshop, a lyric theater camp for children that performs musicals written by Ms Hardy at the Howard Conn Theater, Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. In addition to her performing career, Ms Hardy co-founded and co-directs the Lyric Theater program with her colleague, Professor James McKeel. |
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 Gerald HoekstraProfessor of Music — History and Literature Conductor of Collegium Musicum and Early Music Singers hoekstra@stolaf.edu http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hoekstra Hoekstra teaches music history and directs the St. Olaf early music ensembles, the Collegium Musicum and Early Music Singers. His area of specialization is music of the Renaissance, particularly the French and Flemish chanson. He has published articles in Early Music, Musica Disciplina, Speculum, and The Choral Journal, and he has published critical editions of music of Hubert Waelrant and André Pevernage, and most recently an edition of Le Rossignol musical des chansons (Antwerp, 1597). He is a member of the American Musicological Society, the Viola da Gamba Society of America, and Early Music America, and in 2002 he was presented with EMA's Thomas Binkley Award, a national collegium directors award. He currently serves on the board of Early Music America and is chair the EMA Committee for Early Music in Higher Education. Hoekstra earned his B.A. from Calvin College and master's and doctoral degrees in music history from The Ohio State University under a University Fellowship. |
 Tony HoltInstructor in Music — Voice holta@stolaf.edu Holt received bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford University. A singer since age 7, he was included as one of the choristers at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He has sung professionally in a Cathedral Choir and in the BBC Singers, and more recently was a founding member of the King's Singers, an internationally renowned, six-voice male vocal ensemble. Since 1987 he has divided his time among professional soloing in oratorio, writing record jacket notes, producing records, being a classical disc jockey, and teaching privately and through various schools. |
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John Jensen, BA, Occidental College (Calif.) and MA piano performance, University of Southern California. Principal teachers were Gwendolyn Koldofsky and John Crown (piano), and Halsey Stevens and Ingolf Dahl (composition and 20th century techniques.) He works regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra and the SPCO, and is sought after as a collaborative pianist, playing with fine artists in concerts and music festivals across the country. He often appears on St. Paul Sunday Morning and A Prairie Home companion and has performed with artists such as Doc Severinson, Andy Williams, and Nancy Wilson. He is co-founder of Helios, a classical-jazz quartet, and is the pianist in a jazz-only quartet of musicians from the Twin Cities. His discography includes solo recordings of classical piano, jazz, ragtime music, and chamber music with various artists. He received a Grammy nomination, a Stereo Review “Record of Special Merit” award, and a “Record of the Year” citation from the Village voice. |
 B.J. JohnsonManager of Music Organizations and Assistant to Department Chair musicman@stolaf.edu |
 Dennis JohnsonPiano Technician johnsond@stolaf.edu |
 Sigrid JohnsonArtist in Residence — Voice Conductor of the Manitou Singers johnsos@stolaf.edu Johnson received a B.M. in vocal performance from St. Cloud State University and an M.M. in voice performance from the University of Michigan. She is the conductor of the Manitou Singers. Before her appointment at St. Olaf, she was on the music faculties of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter and at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Ms. Johnson is also the Associate Conductor of the Ensemble Singers and Chorus for Philip Brunelle’s VocalEssence, formerly known as the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota. Ms. Johnson maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician at choral festivals and all-state music festivals across the country and has conducted choral workshops in Australia. She is a member of the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA), Music Educator’s National Conference (MENC), the International Federation for Choral Music and Chorus America.In January through March 1999, Ms. Johnson conducted the National Lutheran Choir of Minneapolis. Ms. Johnson has served as Conductor of the Dale Warland Symphonic Chorus and the Associate Conductor of the Dale Warland Singers. She has prepared symphonic choruses for Neemi Jarvi, Sir Neville Mariner, David Zinman, Stanislaw Skrowaczewsky, Gerard Swartz, Edo de Waart, and Leonard Slatkin among others.In August 2002, she was one of the featured lecturers for the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music. In October 2004, Mrs. Johnson was a featured lecturer and clinician at the Australian National Choral Directors National Conference in Adelaide. In 2006 she was a member of the esteemed jury for the Bela Bartok International Choral Competition in Debrecen, Hungary and in 2008 she will be a lecturer on choral sound for the Eighth World Symposium on Choral Music in Copenhagen. |
 Mark KelleyInstructor in Music — Bassoon kelleybsn@comcast.net Kelley earned a B.M. in Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kelley has studied with George Berry, George Goslee, Norman Herzberg, and Gary Echols. A 25-year member of the Minnesota Orchestra, Kelley is currently co-principal bassoonist and has appeared as a soloist on several occasions. He has also been a member of the Santa Fe Opera Company orchestra, and has attended numerous summer music festivals worldwide. He keeps a rigorous performing schedule and maintains a private teaching studio. Kelley has been a member of the St. Olaf music faculty since 1991. |
Instructor in Music, Nancy Lee, holds a B.A. in music education from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. She has been at Southwest High School as the Vocal Music Director since the fall of 2000. Ms. Lee has taught in Slinger and Milwaukee, WI, Prior Lake, MN, Trenton, New Jersy, and Farmington, IA. |
DANA MAEDA, Instructor in Music: Oboe. BM Oboe Performance, Music |
Jill Mahr, holds a B.M. degree in flute performance and music education with a jazz minor from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She earned a M.M. degree in Flute Performance at Northwestern University, where she studied with Walfrid Kujala of the Chicago Symphony. In addition to flute instruction, Ms. Mahr directs the St. Olaf Handbell Choir, the St. Olaf Chapel Ringers, and oversees the direction of the student-led Manitou Handbell Choir. She is an active member of AGEHR (American Guild of English Handbell Ringers) and is former secretary of Area VII. Ms. Mahr is principal flute in the Mankato Symphony Orchestra and has a private flute studio in her home. |
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www.stolaf.edu/people/mahr |
 Mary MartzInstructor in Music — Voice martz@stolaf.edu Mary Martz, soprano, Instructor in Music. B.S. in Performance and Music Education with a minor in Speech Therapy, Moorhead State University. Graduate studies at Amherst College. Ms. Martz has an extensive performance background in opera theatre with the Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Opera Touring Company, other regional companies, oratorio, recitals, and many years of classroom and private voice instruction. She has also taught in the New York NYSSSA program and is Lecturer in Voice at Carleton College. |
 Harriet McClearyInstructor in Music — Voice mccleary@stolaf.edu Harriet McCleary, soprano, has performed recitals, in operas and oratorios in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Texas and Graz, Austria. Dr. McCleary takes great inspiration from introducing new music to audiences. In 1997 she premiered the first four songs of a set entitled "Chanting to Paradise" by Libby Larsen. In 1999 she premiered a set of songs, "Still Life," by Monte Mason. Formerly on voice faculties at University of Nebraska at Omaha and Westminster Choir College, she teaches on the voice faculty at St. Olaf College and privately at her home studio. Her degrees include B.M.E. and B.M. in Church Music, Texas Christian University; M.M. in Voice, Choral Conducting and Church Music, Westminster Choir College; and D.M.A. in Voice Performance, University of Minnesota. She currently sings with the St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral Choir, Minneapolis. |
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An avid composer, Mr. McKeel has written over 60 operas, operettas, musicals, choral works, arts songs, and song cycles which have received commissions, grants, and premieres from the Kennedy Center, Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Composers Forum, Jerome & Blandin Foundations, Midwest Opera Theatre, Southern Theatre, Twin Cities Opera Guild, and Bel Canto Voices, among others. His premiered works include the Minnesota Opera children's opera, Jargonauts Ahoy, which toured for two years, played to over 20,000 students, and was featured in a PBS special on reading, In Reference to a Child, a choral song cycle commissioned by the Bel Canto Voices, featured in the Kennedy Center's "Year of the Child" concert, and toured throughout the South Pacific, and Reveille to Requiem, a Civil War opera funded by the Blandin Foundation , SEMAC, and St. Olaf College. His published works include the choral work ChristmasDawning (Shawnee Press) and Sherlock Holmes: Solitary Insect (Blackbird Books, Australia). Recent activities include A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein with Henry Charles Smith, the composition of two independent New York film scores Dan Ruff and Plague, stage direction of Christopher Columbus, La Finta Giardiniera, L'enfant et les Sortileges, and a grant from the Twin Cities Opera Guild to produce a touring version of his children's opera The Hero of Hamblett written with critically-acclaimed New York author/illustrator Salvatore Murdocca. In 2007 he reprised his role as the Bishop in The Three Hermits with St. John's University and premiered his jazz-age opera Love Sonnets of a Hoodlum with St. Olaf College. In 2008-09 he will play the role of Galileo directed by Gary Gisselman and will oversee the second production of Love Sonnets of a Hoodlum with St. John's University. Mr. McKeel co-directs the Lyric Theatre Season and teaches Opera Workshop, Acting for the Lyric Stage, and Voice. |
 Kent McWilliamsAssociate Professor of Music — Piano mcw@stolaf.edu McWilliams holds a B.M. and a M.M. in Piano Performance, from the University of Toronto and a D.M.A. from the University of Montreal. He lived in Poland for a year, where he studied with Andrzej Jasinski and researched the Polish folk elements in Chopin's mazurkas and polonaises. He also studied in Germany, where he earned an Artist Diploma with highest distinction under pianist Oleg Maisenberg at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule. McWilliams has enjoyed a successful performing career, having performed in over a dozen countries, and has been an award winner at competitions of Porto (Portugal), the Regina Symphony, the Canadian Music Competitions and the Canadian National Competitive Festival of Music. He performs and records chamber music as a member of the Meridian Trio. McWilliams joined the faculty at St. Olaf after having previously held teaching positions at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada and at the Glenn Gould Professional School in Toronto. Also active as a clinician, he has presented performance and pedagogy workshops across North America. |
Composer Justin Merritt (bn. 1975) is Assistant Professor and Composer in Residence at St. Olaf College. He was the youngest-ever winner of the ASCAP Foundation/Rudolph Nissim award in 2001 for Janus Mask for Orchestra. He is the winner of many other awards including the 2008 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Award for River of Blood, the 2006 Polyphonos Prize for Hay Días, the 2006 VocalEssence Essentially Chorale Competition for Adoro Te Devote, the 2000 Left Coast Chamber Ensemble Composition Competition Award for The Day Florestan Murdered Magister Raro, and the 2001 Kuttner String Quartet Competition for Ravening. Other works include music for orchestra, ballet, and opera. His music has been heard across North America and Europe. He has also worked as composer and musical director in dozens of theater productions, ranging from Shakespeare to DaDa. Hear more music by Justin Merritt at www.mooneast.com Merritt earned his D.M. from Indiana University where he studied composition with Sven-David Sandström, Samuel Adler, Don Freund, Claude Baker, and electronic and computer music with Jeffrey Hass. |
 Elinor NiemistoInstructor in Music — Harp niemiste@stolaf.edu Niemisto received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan. She was also a student at the National Music Camp, Interlochen. Neimisto was harp soloist with several symphonies in the Detroit area while in high school, as well as with the International Youth Symphony in Windsor, Canada. She has attended the Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine, and has played with the Canadian Broadcasting Company in Halifax, the Las Palmas Opera Festival Orchestra (Spain), the Wisconsin Chamber Symphony, and as a free-lance artist and teacher in Finland. She is currently harpist with the Rochester Symphony, the Austin Symphony, the LaCrosse Symphony, and is also on the faculty at Carleton College and Luther College. She has completed five teacher-training sessions in Suzuki harp instruction and has a private studio of about fifteen Suzuki students. |
 Paul NiemistoAssociate Professor of Music — Low Brass Conductor of Norseman Band niemisto@stolaf.edu http://www.stolaf.edu/people/niemisto B.M., M.M., University of Michigan, PhD, University of Minnesota. He is Director of the St. Olaf Norseman Band, Trombone Choir, and Tuba Euphonium Ensemble. He has been a member of the Scandinavia Symphony Orchestra of Detroit, Toledo (Ohio)Symphony, Flint (Michigan) Symphony, Las Palmas Opera Festival Orchestra (Spain), Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (Canada). Has studied bass trombone with Edward Kleinhammer of the Chicago Symphony and tuba with Abe Torchinsky at Michigan . In recent years, Niemisto has been a clinician and soloist at festivals in Canada and Scandinavia, and is founder and director of Ameriikan poijat, a Finnish brass band, and the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra. In Minnesota he has been bass trombonist with the Rochester Orchestra, and euphoniumist with the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band. His research interests are centered on historical brass bands and military brass bands of Finland. He has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar and an American Scandinavian Foundation scholar, studying about early bands in Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia. |
 Paul OusleyInstructor in Music — Double Bass ousley@stolaf.edu Bass instructor Paul Ousley has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Audubon String Quartet and a host of jazz greats. His former teachers include James Clute, Stuart Sankey, Gary Karr, and James Van Demark. He has served on seven college faculties including the University of Iowa and the Eastman School of Music. His pupils include professional players, teachers, scholarship recipients at major music schools and festivals, as well as winners of the Schubert Club and Minnesota Idol solo competitions. Jonathan Van Dyke, class of 1996, won first place at the 2001 Orchestral Competition of the International Society of Bassists. |
 Nancy PaddlefordProfessor of Music — Piano paddlefo@stolaf.edu Nancy Paddleford, Professor of Music. B.M. and M.M., Indiana University; D.M.A. University of Minnesota. Her teachers have included Gyorgy Sebok, Alfonso Montecino and Bernhard Weiser, and she has studied chamber music with Janos Starker, Joseph Gingold, William Primrose and Franco Gulli. Active as chamber and solo recitalist as well as adjudicator at piano competitions in the United States and Central America, Paddleford's teaching areas include piano performance, chamber music, music appreciation, theory skills and piano pedagogy. Her research emphases have been Hispanic music, performance practice, and memorization techniques. Paddleford has served as artist-in-residence at the University of Costa Rica, has performed twice at the International Festival of Music in Costa Rica as well as three times at that country's Monteverde Music Festival. She is the recipient of the Pro Lingua Award for promoting cross-cultural understanding between the U.S. and Latin America, and was asked to give a St. Olaf Mellby Lecture about her scholarly work. A number of her performances and interviews have been broadcast on radio here and abroad. |
 Dione PetersonInstructor in Music — Music Education petersod@stolaf.edu Peterson received a B.S. in Music Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato and an M.M. in Vocal Performance from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is Chair of the Performing and Visual Arts Department at Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota, where she teaches grades 6-12 vocal music, including the select vocal ensembles Elements of Sound and Vocalise. She was formerly Fine Arts Coordinator for the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Public Schools. Prior to her administrative position in Sioux Falls, she taught high school vocal and instrumental music, middle school vocal music, and elementary instrumental music. Peterson is active as a choral clinician throughout the Midwest. Peterson's choral ensembles have appeared on state, division and national ACDA conventions. She is a member of ACDA, MENC, and MEA. At St. Olaf she teaches Choral Methods and Choral Literature I. |
 Michael PetruconisInstructor in Music — Horn petrucon@stolaf.edu BS University of Nebraska at Lincoln, M.M., University of Minnesota. His principal teachers have been Allen French, Herb Winslow and Kendall Betts. Before moving to Minneapolis, Mike served for three seasons as fourth horn in the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra. Active as a freelance artist in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, he performs frequently with the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He currently serves as third horn with the Minnesota Opera and second horn with the Minnesota Sinfonia. Mike has had teaching experience in the elementary and middle school classroom, in the college setting, and in private instruction. |
Dr. Jun Qian, an endorsing artist for the Paris-based Selmer Company, began his appointment as the Assistant Professor of Music in Clarinet at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN fall 2007. Qian has been on the clarinet faculty at Nazareth College, Houghton College, and New York State University at Fredonia. He has also taught music theory at Eastman, chamber music at Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China, and performed as the principal clarinetist of Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. Qian won the first prize for the Orchestral Excerpts Competition and third prize in the Solo Competition at the International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition in 1997. He was also the second prize winner in the Texas Young Artist Competition, and first prize winner in the Baylor Symphony Orchestra 1998 Concerto Competition. His CD, Premier Rhapsodie, and video, Playing the Clarinet, were released under the Nanjing Shine Horn label in China. In the spring of 2007, Qian was the music producer and soloist for Steven Laitz's Book "The Complete Musician" published by the Oxford University Press in US. |
Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Asian Studies, Matt Rahaim received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Wesleyan University (Connecticut), and a MA and PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been studying, teaching, and performing North Indian classical vocal music in India and the US since 1996. In 2000, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study vocal music in Pune, India with Vikas Kashalkar, with whom he has been studying ever since. His research interests include hand gesture, the harmonium, comparative vocal technique, and evolutionary narratives of music history. |
Catherine Rodland graduated cum laude with departmental distinction in organ performance from St. Olaf College in 1987. She received her MM and DMA from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY where she was a student of Russell Saunders. While at Eastman she received the prestigious Performer's Certificate and the Ann Anway Award for excellence in organ performance. Catherine is a prizewinner in several competitions, including the 1994 and 1998 American Guild of Organists Young Artists Competition, and 1994 Calgary International Organ Competition, and first prize in the 1989 International Organ Competition at the University of Michigan. As a result of these competitions she has concertized extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Prior to St. Olaf, Catherine worked as Minister of Music at First Church of Christ in Glastonbury, Connecticut where she was responsible for seven choirs. She co-authored the book "Choristers' Training Program" for the Royal School of Church Music in America, a manual for childrens' choir education. A specialist in working with childrens choirs, Catherine has presented workshops at several church music conventions. Her advanced childrens' choir toured England in the summer of 2001, singing services at Ely Cathedral, Ripon Cathedral, and York Minster. |
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Lori Ronning Folland is a staff pianist at St. Olaf College. Prior to her appointment in 1991, she served as a collaborative pianist at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a chamber musician, Lori has been extensively involved with the collaborative art of music making. She has appeared on the “Y” Concert Series in Pittsburgh, on the Twin Cities Schubert Club Artist Series, on numerous recitals with friends and colleagues, and has soloed with the St. Olaf Philharmonia. Her live performances have been recorded for broadcast on WQED, Pittsburgh. She recently collaborated with JoAnn Polley, clarinet, to record works by Litaize, Bozza, Devienne, and Rameau. Their CD is entitled “French Music for Clarinet and Piano”. Lori is also active as a piano teacher. |
 Kay Sahlin Instructor in Music - Flute sahlin@stolaf.edu Kay Sahlin, Instructor in Music: Flute. B.A. in Music from St. Olaf College. Principal teachers include Donald Berglund and Geoffrey Gilbert. Sahlin currently plays principal flute in the Rochester Orchestra and is 2nd flute/piccoloist of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra. She is a founding member of WindWorks, a professional woodwind quintet. She has served as principal flute of Philomusica (a conductorless chamber orchestra), Minneapolis Chamber Symphony and the St. Louis Philharmonic, and has performed as a substitute/extra player with the Minnesota Orchestra. Sahlin was the faculty coordinator for summer master classes at St. Olaf given by Geoffrey Gilbert, Peter Lloyd and William Bennett. |
 Miriam Scholz-CarlsonInstructor of Music — Alexander Technique scholzca@stolaf.edu |
Ray Shows received his M.Mus in violin performance from Boston University (magna cum laude) and his B.mus from Florida State University. He made his solo violin debut with orchestra in his native Atlanta. A McKnight Fellowship prizewinner in 2004, Ray is a founding member of the Artaria String Quartet and for two decades has performed concerts in major concert halls in New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Atlanta, across the U.S. and in Europe. He has been a featured artist on ABC television, National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting and at the L’Epau Festival in France. An Artist/Teacher in Residence at the renowned Tanglewood Institute and at The Quartet Program, Shows is currently Artistic Director of the Artaria Chamber Music School and the newly created Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. His students attend major conservatories and are Schubert Club prizewinners. Appointed to multi-year teaching residencies at Boston College, Viterbo University, Florida State University and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, Shows is the recipient of prestigious grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and the Heartland Fund. His principal teachers were Roman Totenberg and Gerardo Ribeiro. Eugene Lehner, Raphael Hillyer, and members of the Emerson, Cleveland, Budapest, Muir and La Salle Quartets have mentored him in chamber music. Ray plays on a rare Italian violin made in 1726 by David Tecchler. He has been serving on the faculty of St. Olaf since 2000. |
ROBERT C. SMITH, baritone, Associate Professor of Music. B.M., St. Olaf, |
 Kevin StocksMarketing Specialist for St. Olaf Records/Music Organizations stocks@stolaf.edu Kevin Stocks, originally from Eugene, Oregon is a St. Olaf graduate of 2002 (BA Music/Management Studies concentration). He sang in Viking Chorus and St. Olaf Choir during his four years as a student. Kevin studied voice, piano and organ in addition to student work as a recordist, Performing Arts Chair of the Student Activities Committee and manager of The Limestones. After graduation, Kevin toured with such family shows as Sesame Street Live, Bear in the Big Blue House Live and Dragon Tales Live as Company Manager. In 2005 he moved back to Eugene and worked at the University of Oregon Alumni Association in event planning and program marketing. When he's not working, Kevin enjoys playing tennis, camping, disc golf, cycling, international travel, basketball, playing the guitar and living in Uptown. |
Darrin Thomas is a musician, songwriter, and choral director of gospel music, and is committed to sharing this style of music with the world. He strongly believes that every person has a musical talent that can be cultivated into something beautiful and enjoyable. Darrin's passion for music began more than 30 years ago, when he played drums for his father’s church, located in the Twin Cities. It was while watching his mother direct the choir that he became interested in gospel choirs. Under her tutelage, he was given the privilege to be president and choir director of the Greater St. Paul Church of God in Christ. Darrin has worked with various choirs across the Twin Cities metropolitan area teaching, conducting workshops, and coordinating concert performances. |
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 Paul WestermeyerVisiting Professor of Church Music westerme@stolaf.edu Paul Westermeyer, Visiting Professor of Church Music, Luther Seminary. B.A., Elmhurst, B.D. Lancaster (Pa.) Theological Seminary; S.M.M., School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary (New York); M.A. and Ph.D., University of Chicago. Additional study at The Schola Cantorum, Concordia Theological Seminary, and the liturgical studies program at Notre Dame. Dr. Westermeyer has served as choirmaster-organist for over 30 years, and has served on the faculty of Elmhurst (Ill.) College from 1968-1990, where he was professor of music, department chair, director of the choir and oratorio chorus, and organist. He was ordained in 1986. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association; the American Guild of Organists for whom he served as national chaplain for two terms (1991-1998); the American Society of Church History; the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society; the Hymn Society of America for which he has been Editor (1985-1990) and President (1998-2000); the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Hymnologie; the Liturgical Conference, the Mercersburg Society, and the North American Academy of Liturgy. His books include The Church Musician (1988, rev. 1997); With Tongues of Fire: Profiles in Twentieth-Century Hymn Writing (1995); Let Justice Sing: Hymnody and Justice (1998); and Te Deum: The Church and Music (1998). |
 Terra WiddifieldAssociate Manager of Music Organizations widdifie@stolaf.edu |
Karen Wilkerson, Instructor in Music, is active as a professional singer, conductor, and teacher. She currently sings with the Ensemble Singers of VocalEssence, who recently toured and recorded in England, including a concert with the BBC singers. Wilkerson is in her 16th year as director of adult choirs at Saint Michael's Lutheran Church, Roseville, Minnesota. She sang and recorded for four years in the Dale Warland Singers, and has performed in over 14 productions with the Minnesota Opera. Wilkerson is an active recitalist and oratorio soloist, most recently performing in Minneapolis, Virginia and California. She has studied voice with Richard Johnson, of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Mary Kay Schmidt of Minneapolis, Rita Patane, Milan, Italy, and Janet Bookspan of NewYork City. She has served on the faculty of Lutheran Summer Music for over 12 years. She has held faculty positions at Northwestern College and Gustavus Adolphus College. Wilkerson holds degrees in Music from California State University, Northridge, and Westminster Choir College, Princeton New Jersey. |
 Herbert WinslowAssistant Professor of Music — Horn fursthorn@aol.com Winslow attended Indiana University, where he studied with Ethel Merker, and is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of Mason Jones. While still a student, he performed frequently with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Winslow was appointed associate principal horn of the Minnesota Orchestra in 2005. He has had a long relationship with the Minnesota Orchestra, performing as acting associate principal horn for the 1994-95 season and, since 1993, for Sommerfest. Winslow has long been known to Twin Cities audiences as principal horn of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, a position he held from 1981-2005. From 1990 to 1992, Winslow spent his summer seasons as principal horn of the Santa Fe Opera. In demand as a teacher, he has served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota since 1989, and joined the St. Olaf College faculty in 2001. From 2002 to 2004, Winslow performed in the Bay Chamber Music Festival's First Chair All-Stars series in Rockport, Maine, joining principal players from orchestras in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago and Montreal. |
 Larry ZimmermanInstructor in Music — Low Brass zimmerlj@stolaf.edu Trombonist Larry Zimmerman graduated magna cum laude with a degree in music education from St. Olaf College in 1986, and earned an MM in Trombone Performance from Boston University in 1989. He is a member of the Grammy winning Chestnut Brass Company, and is Principal Trombonist of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra. He has performed around Minnesota with many ensembles, including the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Larry is also active in the performance of period brass instruments, including Renaissance sackbuts and 19th Century saxhorns. He enjoys working as a soloist & chamber musician, and has recently presented programs of new music for trombone with piano, organ, tape, film, & other instruments. Larry lives in Minneapolis and is a low brass instructor at St. Olaf College, Bethel University, and the University of St. Thomas. |
Karen Wilkerson 