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St. Olaf music legend and community volunteer Frederick Schmidt dies at age 92

By Amy Gage
May 30, 2002

Frederick A. Schmidt, former manager of music organizations and director of public functions at St. Olaf College, died Wednesday, May 29, 2002, in Northfield at age 92. Schmidt will be remembered as "a fine impresario" who booked the famous St. Olaf Choir in cathedrals and concert halls around the world, according to B.J. Johnson, who succeeded Schmidt as manager of music organizations at the college in 1978.

A funeral service will be held Monday, June 3, 11 a.m., at St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield. Visitation with the family will be on Sunday, June 2, from 4 to 7 p.m., at Benson & Langehough Funeral Home in Northfield and also for one hour at the church before the funeral service.

Schmidt was born November 12, 1909, in Northfield to Dr. Paul G. and Sophie (Jorgensen) Schmidt. He was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church, where years later he chaired the worship and arts committee, and was a member of the Board of Deacons and the outreach programs. Schmidt re-established St. John's adult choir in 1950 and was its director for 20 years.

He had a similar legacy at St. Olaf College. His father, Professor of Mathematics P.G. Schmidt, became the first manager of music organizations - the job that Fred himself would later hold - in 1912. As a student, Fred sang in the St. Olaf Choir and participated in the choir's 1930 European concert tour. An outstanding swimmer, he was undefeated in four years of intercollegiate competition. He graduated from the college in 1931 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology.

In 1935, he married Lenore Swenson, who also graduated from St. Olaf in 1931. She later became a voice teacher at the college. The couple had one son, David.

Schmidt taught music in high schools in Austin, Minn., and in Shawano and New Richmond, Wis., before earning a master's in music from the University of Iowa in 1942. He later chaired the music department at the state college in Whitewater, Wis., before returning to St. Olaf College as a full professor in 1948.

In assuming the position his father had held for four decades, Schmidt was stepping into big shoes. P.G. Schmidt was influential in having F. Melius Christiansen - now a legend on campus as the first director of the St. Olaf Choir - appointed as music director at the college in 1903.

But Fred Schmidt distinguished himself in his role as manager of the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Band and the St. Olaf Orchestra, says Kenneth Jennings, a professor emeritus of music who directed the St. Olaf Choir from 1968 to 1990. "He was a very affable, charming man," Jennings recalls. "I think he enjoyed his work immensely. He was a man of great dignity and poise."

From 1958 until his retirement in 1972, Schmidt also was director of public functions at the college, coordinating annual events such as Opening Convocation, Homecoming, Founders' Day, Honors Day, Baccalaureate and Commencement. He also managed the distribution of St. Olaf Christmas Festival tickets "with fairness and good humor," one former employee recalls.

Schmidt started College City Travel in Northfield in 1952, and he focused more on that work upon his retirement from St. Olaf, planning concert tours for high school, college and church music ensembles. An active community volunteer, he served as president of the Northfield Community Memorial Foundation, director of the Northfield Chamber of Commerce and a charter member of the Northfield Arts Guild.

He also was active in the Northfield Rotary Club, serving as club president in 1983-84 and receiving the club's prestigious "Service Above Self" award in 1993.

An avid outdoorsman, Schmidt enjoyed fly-fishing, hunting and golfing. Schmidt was preceded in death by his wife, Lenore; brother, Dr. Paul G. Schmidt II; and sisters Dorothy Galloway and Gertrude Bowers. He is survived by his son, David, daughter-in-law, Patricia Schmidt, and grandson, Ryan Schmidt, of Tacoma, Wash.; nieces Susan Nymo (Jon) and Dorothy Hedlund (James); and nephews John Schmidt (Marlene) and Paul Schmidt III (Mary).

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