Melvin Donald Olson (December 24, 1930 – December 15, 2001) was an American choral conductor who introduced the compositions of

John Rutter Sir John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, R ...

to the United States.

Career

Born in Wisconsin, Olson studied at the

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and received his master's degree from

Westminster Choir College Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music, currently operating on the campus of Rider University, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences (the college under which the historic institution has ...

. He directed, among others, the choir The Voices of Mel Olson, which was founded in 1969 and later called Master Singers, in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. Olson and his choirs are the dedicatees of several of Rutter's works. He commissioned ''

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...

'' in 1974 for The Voices of Mel Olson, which Rutter set according to Olson's specifications. Olson traveled to the UK to discuss details with the composer, who later credited him with influencing his compositions: "Much of the credit must go to Mel Olson … because, in telling me what he was looking for in a new choral work, he was telling me what thousands of other choral directors were looking for too.” Olson commissioned Rutter to compose "''I will lift up mine eyes''" (

Psalm 121 Psalm 121 is the 121st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint ...

) for his church choir and orchestra at the First United Methodist Church of Omaha, where it was first performed one day after the ''Gloria''. In 1976, Olson commissioned James E. Fritschel to write ''Give Ear, O Ye Heavens'', after

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

32:1 for unaccompanied double chorus, for The Voices of Mel Olson. Rutter dedicated his anthem '' The Lord is my Shepherd'' (

Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and ...

, published in 1978), to Olson and his Chancel Choir of the First United Methodist Church. Edwin R. Fissinger composed on commission for Olson and the Voices of Mel Olson ''To Everything There Is A Season'', after

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

III, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, speaker and choir, published in 1979 by Jenson Publications. Olson died in

Nevada City, California Nevada City is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, California, Sacramento, southwest of Reno, Nevada, Reno and northeast of San Francisco. The population was 3,152 as of the 2020 United States ...

References

External links

* Loann Scarpato
John Rutter (b.1945): Gloria
academyconcerts.org 3 December 2013
John Rutter

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Mel American choral conductors American male conductors (music) 1930 births 2001 deaths Classical musicians from Wisconsin Northwestern University alumni Westminster Choir College alumni 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians