The St. Olaf Band an ensemble of approximately 90 musicians, is the touring
concert band
A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...
of
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 ...
,
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 ...
, United States. The band was founded in 1891, and holds the honor of being the first music organization established at St. Olaf.
F. Melius Christiansen assumed leadership of the band in 1903. In 1906, Christiansen took the St. Olaf Band on tour to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
to play in celebrations for the coronation of
King Haakon VII
Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957.
The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...
, of the newly independent Norway. They were thus the first college band to conduct a tour abroad.
Miles H. Johnson took over direction of the ensemble in 1957, and held the position of conductor for 37 years. During this time, Johnson drove the band to even greater heights, earning it national and international acclaim as a performing ensemble.
In 1994, Dr.
Timothy Mahr
Timothy Mahr (born March 20, 1956) is an American composer and conductor. He previously conducted the St. Olaf Band for 29 years before his retirement in 2023.
Early life
Mahr was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. He earned a Bachelor of Music deg ...
was appointed conductor of the ensemble. In March 1997, the band toured California for nine days, and were one of four college bands invited to perform at the
American Bandmasters Association
The American Bandmasters Association (ABA) was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music.Raoul F. Camus. "American Bandmasters Association." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/sub ...
National Convention in San Diego. Under the direction of Dr. Mahr, the St. Olaf Band has produced nine compact disc recordings, four of which have received worldwide praise.
The band, hailed by ''The New Yorker'' as "one of America's preeminent bands", traditionally tours domestically for one week at the beginning of February. In the summer of 2005, the St. Olaf Band,
St. Olaf Orchestra and
St. Olaf Choir traveled on a joint tour to Norway, celebrating the college's Norwegian heritage and the
centennial
A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century.
Notable events
Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include:
* Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
of Norway's independence from Sweden. During January 2010, the band toured Japan for the first time in its history and is scheduled to return in June 2023. Most recently, the St. Olaf Band was selected to be a performing ensemble at the prestigious College Band Directors National Association National Conference which took place in March 2013. In January 2017, the band toured Australia and New Zealand and performed with ensembles including the Australian Wind Symphony and the
Royal Australian Navy Band.
References
External links
The St. Olaf BandSt. Olaf CollegeSt. Olaf RecordsLast.fm Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Olaf Band
American instrumental musical groups
Wind bands
Musical groups established in 1891
St. Olaf College
1891 establishments in Minnesota
University concert bands