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St. Olaf Orchestra, St. Olaf Choir to appear in rare joint performance during Orchestra winter tour

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January 11, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? The internationally renowned St. Olaf Orchestra will join the world-famous St. Olaf Choir for an historic joint performance in San Antonio, Texas, during the Orchestra?s nine-state tour in late January and early February.

It will be the first joint tour performance for the St. Olaf Choir and the St. Olaf Orchestra ? part of the longest domestic tour in the Orchestra?s history, including a performance in the famed Phoenix Symphony Hall in Arizona. The Orchestra is conducted by St. Olaf College music faculty member Steven Amundson; the Choir by music faculty member Anton Armstrong.

In addition to Texas, the 94-member St. Olaf Orchestra will perform in Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona. The tour opens with a concert in Minnesota Saturday, Jan. 27, and concludes with a free, public "home" concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, in Skoglund Center Auditorium at St. Olaf College.

Music to be performed during the Orchestra?s tour includes "Thieving Magpie Overture" by Goachinno Rossini, "Canzona di Centone" by Charles Forsberg, "Death and Transfiguration" by Richard Strauss, and Ottorino Respighi?s "The Pines of Rome."

The St. Olaf Orchestra, comprised of students from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., is considered one of the finest collegiate orchestras in the nation. It has developed a national reputation for excellence, appearing frequently on National Public Television, and is a major part of the acclaimed St. Olaf Christmas Festival concert.

The Orchestra has performed with conductors Robert Shaw and Sir David Willcocks as well as pianists Leon Fleisher and Victor Borge in concerts that are among the highlights of its 94-year history.

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The Orchestra was founded at St. Olaf College in 1906. It has toured annually since 1949, traveling throughout the United States, Scandinavia and central and eastern Europe. It has performed in some of Europe?s finest concert halls, with some of the world?s most noted conductors and artists, attracting sellout crowds and standing ovations. In 1998 it earned widespread acclaim and rave reviews for performances in the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. Last year it received standing ovations in Chicago and Minneapolis for stellar performances during the college?s 125th Anniversary "Showcase" concerts.

Since 1981 the Orchestra has been conducted by St. Olaf College music faculty member Steven Amundson, who teaches conducting, music theory and instrumentation and is an active composer. A 1977 graduate of Luther College, Amundson earned a master of music degree in orchestral conducting and music theory from Northwestern University, and completed further studies at the University of Virginia, the Aspen Music School and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. In 1992 the Minnesota Music Educators Association named him "Minnesota Orchestra Educator of the Year."

The St. Olaf Orchestra?s 2001 winter tour schedule:

* Saturday, Jan. 27 (pre-tour concert): Immanuel Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, Minn., 7 p.m. For tickets please call 612-934-0063.

* Tuesday, Jan. 30: B. J. Haan Auditorium, Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 712-722-1136.

* Wednesday, Jan. 31: City Auditorium, McCook, Neb., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 308-345-6510.

* Thursday, Feb. 1: Bethany Lutheran Church, Englewood, Colo., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 303-758-2920.

* Friday, Feb. 2: Popejoy Hall, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 505-277-3123.

* Saturday, Feb. 3: Mingus Union High School Auditorium, Cottonwood, Ariz., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 520-634-7593.

* Sunday, Feb. 4: Phoenix Symphony Hall, Phoenix, Ariz., 3 p.m. For tickets please call 602-262-7272.

* Monday, Feb. 5: First Baptist Church, El Paso, Tex., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 915-533-1465, ext. 21.

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* Thursday, Feb. 8: First Baptist Church (combined concert with the St. Olaf Choir), San Antonio, Tex., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 210-226-0363.

* Friday, Feb. 9: Bethany First Church of the Nazarene, Oklahoma City, Okla., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 405-947-4321.

* Saturday, Feb. 10: White Concert Hall, Washburn University, Topeka, Kans., 7:30 p.m. For tickets please call 785-231-1010, ext. 1511.

* Tuesday, Feb. 13: Skoglund Center Auditorium, St. Olaf College, "Home Concert," 8 p.m. Free and open to the public.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty of approximately 250. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.