Paul Joseph Christiansen (July 31, 1914 – December 5, 1997) was an American choral conductor and composer. As the youngest son of
F. Melius Christiansen, he was brought up into 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 and quickly developed his own style of conducting and composing that furthered the tradition started by his father. He spent the bulk of his career developing
The Concordia Choir
The Concordia Choir is a 68-member mixed choir of students at Concordia College, in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. In addition to performing on campus regularly, the Concordia Choir has and continues to perform at locations around the world ...
and conducted the choir from 1937-1986. He is also credited with establishing the Concordia Christmas Concert which is seen yearly by more than 30,000 people.
Paul J. Christiansen died December 5, 1997, at his Moorhead, Minnesota home, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (AML Lou Gehrig's disease). He was 83 years old at the time of his death.
Selected compositions and arrangements
*''Gracious Spirit''
*''This Little Light''
*''Pilgrim's Chorus''
*''Wondrous Love''
*''Lift Up Your Heads''
*''Brothers''
*''My Song in the Night''
*''The King of Love''
*''Prayers of Steel''
*''Christmas Procession''
*''Vidi Aquam''
*''And God Shall''
*''Create in Me a Clean Heart O God''
*''Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head''
*''Now All Poor''
*''Tree of Glory''
*''While Angels Sing''
*''Kyrie Eleison''
*''
This is My Father's World
"This is My Father's World" is a Christian hymn written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister from the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York, and published posthumously in 1901.
History
When Rev. Babcock lived in Lockport, New York, he took ...
''
*''Easter Carol''
*''Winds Through The Olive Trees''
*''Cindy''
*''Swing Low, Sweet Chariot''
*''The Last Spring''
*''Mary Sat Spinning''
*"David's Prayer (from Psalm 39)"
Legacy
Paul J. Christiansen's development of
The Concordia Choir
The Concordia Choir is a 68-member mixed choir of students at Concordia College, in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. In addition to performing on campus regularly, the Concordia Choir has and continues to perform at locations around the world ...
has left a lasting impact, not only on
Concordia College, Moorhead
Concordia College is a private liberal arts college in Moorhead, Minnesota. Founded by Norwegian settlers in 1891, the school is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is unrelated to the Concordia University System op ...
, but on modern American choral music. Some of his most distinguished students have been his son Erik Christiansen (Choral conductor at Stillwater Area High School), Gregory Aune (conductor of The Gustavus Choir), Maurice Skones (Director of The Choir of the West and Director of Choral Activities and Professor Emeritus for
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
), Larry L. Fleming (founder of the National Lutheran Choir), Bruce Phelps (founder and conductor of the Two Rivers Chorale & the Northern Lights Chorale), Richard D. Hoffland (Milliken University), Phyllis Bryn-Julson, operatic soprano and pedagogue,
Daniel T. Moe (Director of Choral Organizations for the University of Iowa, professor of choral conducting at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music), Phil Mattson (jazz arranger and music director),
Phyllis E. Zimmerman (composer and Director of Canticle A Cappella Choir), Kathryn Huselid (Retired Choral Director from Atwater Cosmos Grove City High School and 1995 MMEA Choral Educator of the Year),
[https://38d44272-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/mnmusiceducation/about/awards/Educators%20of%20the%20year.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7co0Q_l3fKA4rptWtoaX6HqHFfsygKc_v5gUk_lmfvvSK8yL1MBmMLRcfcIQJB4sV4nTkFpAF3vKvHxby0tGUMTMUbb0tUo0hKgDzxnoVutYazvhG7s7C3oHQ2-IXooNnrgBvFF16CFT-njsCSrkmCyvDNhh3OYaYVH_UsnqugA_oR_1DWktP8pNG5pVvM5J0fW7nBRzkI2q9Ff9zC-fQL07xpD6lUCtzYXnZbsvJQ48i1r4zgzhQrObsKLPg65H-6bi3mxQ&attredirects=0 ] Arlene Buckneberg Ydstie (choir director and composer), and Bruce Houglum (Conductor of the Concordia Orchestra).
References
References and external links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110720133018/http://discovery.mnhs.org/MN150/index.php?title=Paul_J._Christiansen
*http://www.luthersem.edu/word&world/archives/12-3_music/12-3_armstrong.pdf
*http://www.arcasearch.com/us/mn/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20071101000553/http://www.cord.edu/Music/Christmas/history.php
*http://www.a-cappella.com/product/4811/classical_mixd_groups
*http://www.concordiarecordings.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CR&Product_Code=3723
*http://www.cord.edu/Music/Ensembles/Orchestras/Orchestra/conductor.php
*https://web.archive.org/web/20081203005834/http://www.plu.edu/~choir/history.html
*http://gustavus.edu/profiles/gaune/
*"50 Years With Paul J. Christiansen" produced by Concordia Recordings, Moorhead, MN
*Concordia College Department of Music, Sheldon Green
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christiansen, Paul J.
1914 births
1997 deaths
20th-century American male composers
American choral conductors
American male conductors (music)
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American composers