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Sigrid Johnson honored with F. Melius Christiansen Award

By Sarah Meyer '08
January 4, 2007

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Johnson is known for her skill at blending voices and perfecting the tone of a choral ensemble.
St. Olaf College faculty member Sigrid Johnson, conductor of the college's Manitou Singers, has been awarded the F. Melius Christiansen Award by the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota (ACDA-MN). The lifetime achievement award -- the highest honor from the association -- is presented annually to a Minnesota conductor whose career has provided outstanding contributions and distinguished service to choral music in Minnesota.

The award was presented during the F. Melius Christiansen 135th Anniversary Concert by five college choirs (including the St. Olaf Choir) at Orchestra Hall Nov. 19. Christiansen is the founder of the St. Olaf Music Department.

Johnson has inspired more than 2,000 young women during her 23-year tenure as conductor of Manitou Singers, the 100-voice chorus for first-year women at St. Olaf. As a guest clinician at choral workshops and all-state music festivals in 30 states she has enriched and deepened the musical experience of countless young women across the country. Johnson is known for her skill at blending voices, perfecting tone and assisting with vocal production -- both psychologically and physiologically.

"One couldn't ask for a better colleague," says Anton Armstrong '78, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. "I think she has the best set of ears in choral music in the United States. She has the most masterful musical ability and shows it through her work with young women. She shares a vulnerability in herself with her students, enabling them to open up, which can create an amazing talent."

Johnson joins the ranks of several St. Olaf faculty members who have received the award since its establishment in 1973, including Philip Brunelle, Olaf Christiansen '25, Kenneth Jennings '50 and Robert Scholz '61.

Johnson earned her bachelor's of music degree in vocal performance from St. Cloud State University and a master's of music in voice performance from the University of Michigan. She has taught voice at the University of Minnesota and Gustavus Adolphus College, was a member and associate conductor of the Dale Warland Singers and music director of the Dale Warland Symphonic Chorus. She has prepared symphonic choruses for such internationally known conductors as Neemi Jarvi, Sir Neville Mariner, David Zinman, Stanislaw Skrowaczewsky, Gerard Swartz, Edo de Waart and Leonard Slatkin. Currently, Johnson is associate conductor and director of special events for Philip Brunelle's VocalEssence (formerly the Plymouth Music Series) and is active as a clinician specializing in women's literature.

Past recipients of the F. Melius Christiansen Award include Olaf Christiansen '25 (1976), Paul Christiansen '34 (1979), A. B. Engen '42 (1982), Curtis Hansen '41 (1984), Ronald Nelson '49 (1986), Murrae Freng '46 (1987), Kenneth Jennings '50 (1989), Geneva Eschweiler '48 (1990), Roger Tenney '52 (1991), Alice Larsen '51 (1992), Dale Warland '54 (1993), 1995 Robert Scholz '61 (1993) and Karle Erickson '60 (2002).

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