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St. Olaf Band to present annual Cathedral Concert in Minneapolis

By Elizabeth Child
April 2, 2003

The St. Olaf Band will present its 29th annual Cathedral Concert, Sunday, April 13, 3 p.m., at Central Lutheran Church, 333 S. 12th St., in Minneapolis. The concert is free and open to the public.

Tim Mahr
Mahr
More than a century old, the 91-member St. Olaf Band of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., is internationally recognized for its musicianship and breadth of repertoire from traditional to contemporary compositions. Conductor Timothy Mahr has led the band since 1994. He has composed 50 works, including 25 commissions.

"The annual cathedral concert is a tradition that brings beautiful sacred music into a landmark church or cathedral outside of our college community for a wide audience to experience," Mahr says. "Our program offers music of hope and reconciliation, which is timely given the world events of late," he continues. "Warren Benson's The Passing Bell and Gloriosa by Japanese composer Yasuhide Ito are especially powerful and moving works."

The concert also features two works by Northfield composer Daniel Kallman: Fantasia Variations on Eternal Alleluias (1991) and the congregational hymn Let us Raise Eternal Alleluias (1990). Kallman has written for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Plymouth Music Series, and his work has been performed internationally. In addition, St. Olaf senior Jonathan Feustel will solo on the marimba with the band in the piece Meditation from Thais (1894) by Jules Massanet. Feustel, who serves as the band's president, is from Mason City, Iowa, and is majoring in music and management.

History of the Cathedral Concert The Cathedral Concert is a tradition that began in 1974 when Mahr's predecessor, band conductor Miles H. ("Mity") Johnson, was on tour with the St. Olaf Band in the British Isles. He was inspired to offer a concert inside the ruins of the 1918 cathedral of Coventry, England, which had been bombed during World War II. The moving concert led the band to perform at a cathedral of note once a year, and each year since the Cathedral Concert has drawn hundreds of listeners.

"The St. Olaf Band is excited to return to Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for its 29th Annual Cathedral Concert, as the first 10 such concerts took place in that impressive sanctuary," Mahr says.

The program also includes Homily, by St. Olaf College Pastor Bruce Benson.

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.