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St. Olaf makes Memorial Day donation of 2,000 St. Olaf Choir CDs to U.S. military

By Elizabeth Child
May 28, 2003

To commemorate Memorial Day, St. Olaf College has donated more than 2,000 copies of the St. Olaf Choir's CD Great Hymns of Faith to the U.S. military chaplaincy for worship services among the troops.

"We know it is now being heard in the deserts of Iraq and around the globe," says Bob Johnson, manager of Music Organizations at St. Olaf College.

St. Olaf Records (www.stolafrecords.com) released Great Hymns of Faith in 1999.

"The hymns on this CD are treasured by Christians of all denominations, making them appropriate for most ecumenical services," Johnson says. "Longtime friends of the college provided a generous gift to underwrite the distribution costs for this special project. This is an opportunity for St. Olaf College to share a Christian message of hope, faith and values through beautiful, familiar hymns."

The Rev. Gorden Estenson, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor, inspired the donation. Having been called to active service, Estenson arrived at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin with no music for his worship services. He asked his wife, Rikka, to send him Great Hymns of Faith. She subsequently alerted Johnson that there might be a widespread need for music of worship among military chaplains.

Johnson quickly penned a letter to military officials in Washington, D.C., offering to donate the Great Hymns of Faith CDs. The donation was welcomed, and soon St. Olaf received a request for 950 CDs for the Navy and Marines and another 125 for the Air Force and remainder to the Army.

On the CD, the St. Olaf Choir's disciplined, joyful choral tradition adds to the beauty and simplicity of some of the world's greatest hymns.

"When the St. Olaf Choir sings a hymn it moves it beyond congregational singing to a level of virtuosity that can deepen our involvement with the hymn," says Anton Armstrong, director of the St. Olaf Choir.

The CD begins with what Armstrong considers one of the greatest hymns of praise, "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," which the St. Olaf Choir starts singing in Latin and then seamlessly transitions to English. Other hymns on the 19-song CD include "Beautiful Savior," the choir's signature song; "Praise to the Lord"; "Rise Up, O Men of God; Great is Thy Faithfulness"; and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

About the St. Olaf Choir The 75-member St. Olaf Choir is acclaimed as one of America's premier choirs. Founded in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, the St. Olaf Choir initiated the a cappella choral tradition in the United States and has been a major influence on American choirs ever since.

Today, the St. Olaf Choir is perhaps best known as the centerpiece of the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, broadcast nationally on PBS television and many public radio stations.

With a beauty of sound that is both rich and precisely balanced, the St. Olaf Choir has touched audiences worldwide, the result of 13 tours to Scandinavia, Western and Central Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The St. Olaf Choir has also performed across the United States, including eight performances in New York's Carnegie Hall. In August 2002, the St. Olaf Choir appeared on the international stage at the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music in Minnesota's Twin Cities.

Anton Armstrong became music director of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990. A 1978 graduate of St. Olaf College, Armstrong sang in the St. Olaf Choir. Armstrong earned a master of music degree in choral music from the University of Illinois and a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from Michigan State University. His doctoral thesis documented the St. Olaf Choir's influence on the American choral tradition. Armstrong returned to St. Olaf after 10 years on the faculty at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Since 1976, the St. Olaf Choir has recorded 17 discs, including the international release of its Celestial Country CD on the Linn Records label in 2003, featuring one of Charles Ives' major choral works. Recordings are available through www.stolafrecords.com.

About St. Olaf College St. Olaf College, a national leader among liberal arts institutions, fosters the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college in Northfield, Minn., and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college provides personalized instruction and diverse learning environments, with nearly two-thirds of its students participating in international studies.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.