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St. Olaf Band to continue Cathedral Concert tradition in New Brighton this Sunday

By Nancy J. Ashmore
April 17, 2002

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -The St. Olaf Band played its first "cathedral concert" in 1974 in England's Coventry Cathedral. The ensemble's annual commemoration of that emotion-filled performance will take place this year on Sunday, April 21, under the direction of Timothy Mahr, conductor of the band since 1994.

The 28th annual Cathedral Concert of the St. Olaf Band will be held Sunday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Brighton and will begin at 3:30 p.m. St. John the Baptist is located at 835 Second Ave. N.W. The concert costs $10 for adults and $5 for students.

"The first St. Olaf Band Cathedral Concert was held to emulate a performance by the band in the bombed ruins of Coventry Cathedral," Mahr says. "This heritage seems all the more meaningful in the wake of this past fall's tragedies. Our programming for the concert includes works both sublime and powerful that focus on our search for hope and salvation."

Under the direction of Mahr, the band will perform: "Fervent is My Longing" by Johann Sebastian Bach, "Whatsoever Things?" by Mark Camphouse, "Sing My Tongue, Alleluia" by John Zdechlik, "We, Thy People, Praise Thee" by Franz Josef Haydn, "The Hound of Heaven" by James Syler, "Be Thou My Vision" by David Gillingham and "Homage to Perotin" by Ron Nelson. College Pastor W. Bruce Benson will present a homily.

Mahr is a professor of music at St. Olaf, where he teaches composition, conducting and music education and supervises instrumental student teaching. He is well known as a composer and has more than 50 works to his credit, 17 of which have been contracted for publication. He received the 1991 ABA/Ostwald Award for his piece The Soaring Hawk. Three additional works have been finalists in national contests.

Mahr, a 1977 graduate of St. Olaf, earned two degrees summa cum laude at the college: a bachelor of music with a major in theory/composition, and a bachelor of arts with a major in music education. He later attended the University of Iowa, where he earned a master's and doctorate. Active as a guest conductor and clinician, he is in demand across the nation and in Norway and Canada as a conductor of all-state bands, intercollegiate bands and honor band festivals.

The St. Olaf Band is the oldest musical organization at St. Olaf College. From its earliest days it has toured nationally and internationally, and in 1906 it became the first American collegiate band to make a European concert tour, with a four-week, 30-concert tour to Norway. Since then it has toured several times in Norway, Great Britain and Europe, as well as throughout the United States.

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 more than two-thirds of its students participating in international studies.

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