You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

St. Olaf Orchestra members reflect on joy of playing in their hometowns

By Elizabeth Child
October 22, 2005

In 1996, seventh grader Lisa Schaus heard the St. Olaf Orchestra in Indianapolis' Trinity Episcopal Church. The audience was small, but the impression the concert left on this one girl was huge.

"I had no idea that classical music could be played with such intensity and passion," Schaus says.

She'd been playing the flute for two years. She hung the promotional poster in her bedroom throughout her years at Indianapolis' Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and dreamed of playing in that orchestra one day. Not one like it. It had to be the St. Olaf Orchestra.

This year she is touring nine cities from Minnesota to New York City as a member of the 89-member St. Olaf Orchestra; the ensemble played last Tuesday at Pike Performing Arts Center in Zionsville, Schaus' hometown.

The 2005 tour will culminate with a home concert on Sunday, Oct. 30, with an afternoon performance at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. (For tickets, call 612-371-5656.)

A senior, Schaus has been principle flute for two years, having earned a place in her dream orchestra as a first-year student at St. Olaf.

"Playing in my hometown was a chance in a lifetime. I've been telling everyone how much I love the orchestra and St. Olaf, and I had the chance to actually show them," she says.

Another St. Olaf Orchestra member who hails from the greater Indianapolis metro area is Levi Comstock, a sophomore viola player who graduated from Lawrence North High School in 2004. He chose St. Olaf because he liked the balance between the first-rate music program and the quality liberal arts education.

"I think the music department's greatest strength is its accessibility to students who love music and play brilliantly but don't necessarily want to major in music," he says.

About half of St. Olaf Orchestra members, including Comstock, major in music. Many are double majors. The most popular non-music majors are mathematics, sciences and foreign languages -- which also are programs in which St. Olaf is nationally ranked.

Comstock says he hopes to teach high school orchestra some day. Other serious musicians in the orchestra, such as Schaus, will keep music a strong avocation. She is planning to go to graduate school in organic chemistry and would like to be a professor.

But after years of lessons and practice she acknowledges, "I cannot imagine life without music. I hope to always play the flute."

Both Comstock and Schaus were thrilled to stop home while on tour, but they're also excited about the new places the orchestra takes them. Last June, the college's three leading music ensembles -- the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Choir and St. Olaf Orchestra -- celebrated 100 years of touring by performing throughout Norway.

Norwegian immigrants founded St. Olaf College more than 130 years ago, so the appearances were a welcome addition during Norway's centennial celebration to fete its amicable separation from Sweden. The St. Olaf Orchestra garnered rave reviews that noted especially its precision and exuberance. One reviewer compared the ensemble with professional orchestras.

Touring helps the St. Olaf Orchestra gel both personally and as performers. "It's so much fun being with a community of great people and playing incredible concerts every night, but it's a lot of hard work, too," Schaus says. "We have early mornings, long bus rides, lots of homework and hard rehearsals."

Touring Traditions
Tours are full of wacky traditions passed down from year to year. Some help new orchestra members feel welcome, like "secret Orchie" in which anonymous gifts are given to the "newbies."

Other traditions include the skits that all new members have to perform at dinner and awards given to members who make silly mistakes, such as forgetting their black concert shoes.

St. Olaf Orchestra conductor Steven Amundson is an active participant in these traditions, and his good humor helps bring the orchestra closer, as does his experience as a leader.

Now in his 25th year at St. Olaf, Amundson, 49, has won many awards, including a prestigious international conducting award. As a composer, he has had works played by professional orchestras nationwide. He cultivates a tight ensemble in which members encourage each other with smiles and stomping feet on stage.

Comstock and Schaus also acknowledge the important influence of early music teachers. For Comstock, a stand-out is Susan Kitterman, director of the New World Youth Orchestras in which he played for five years. Kitterman was also his conducting mentor during his senior year of high school.

Steve Hoernemann, who became band director at Brebeuf during Schaus? first year of band, inspired the young student in her musical development. "It was amazing to see how he transformed Brebeuf's music program to the well-run enthusiastic large group it was when I graduated," she says.

Early influences often shape us the most. Perhaps that's why Schaus still hangs that old St. Olaf Orchestra poster in her dorm room. "It reminds me how much I wanted to be in the orchestra. I can never take it for granted."

Contact Elizabeth Child at 507-645-0119 or ec@elizabethchild.com.