Olaf C. Christiansen (August 12, 1901 – April 12, 1984) was an American composer, professor, and conductor in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

choral tradition. He succeeded his father as the second conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, which he led for 27 years.

Background

The second son of famed choral conductor F. Melius Christiansen, Christiansen grew up in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

where he was actively engaged in both athletics and music. He played in high school with the

St. Olaf Band The St. Olaf Band an ensemble of approximately 90 musicians, is the touring concert band of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, United States. The band was founded in 1891, and holds the honor of being the first music organization establish ...

. After a brief sabbatical, he began studying music seriously at

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

in 1921. During college, he sang with, and occasionally conducted, the St. Olaf Choir before graduating in 1925. Upon graduation, Christiansen briefly studied

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with baritone Paul Parks.

Career

Christiansen began teaching music at the

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in ...

Oberlin, OH Oberlin () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located about southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts c ...

, where he founded the Oberlin A Cappella Choir in 1929. After obtaining a master of

sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as a ritual. Reli ...

degree from

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

in 1940, he returned to his alma mater in 1941 to co-conduct the St. Olaf Choir with his father. Upon his father's retirement in 1943, he became the full time conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, a position he held until 1968 During his career, Christiansen spread the

choral tradition across the nation. In addition to domestic and international tours with the St. Olaf Choir, he co-founded the Christiansen Choral School with his father, which was attended by more than 7,000 American music directors. He was a frequent guest conductor at music festivals and clinics. He also composed and arranged sacred choir works. Christiansen died in 1984 from

bone cancer A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christiansen, Olaf 1901 births St. Olaf College alumni St. Olaf College faculty American choral conductors American male conductors (music) Oberlin College alumni Oberlin College faculty 20th-century American male composers American composers 1984 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music)