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St. Olaf College on "Because We Had Not Gained Wide What Was to Become the Most Impor­ Recognition Yet

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St. Olaf College on HC) NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA U A Kenneth Jennings, Conductor In Concert 1990 I rrprf"~ri Top: St. Olaf Choir at Washington Memorial Monument in Philadelphia, 1920. Bottom: St. Olaf Choir, 1989-90. Note: The taking of photographs and the use of recording devices are prohibited. Concert-goers are requested to check cameras, tape recorders, video cameras, and pagers. Please ask an usher for checking location. "Great Tour East" Was First Stop on Road to National and International Recognition for the St. Olaf Choir The world was marking the start of a its concerts would include a perfor­ new decade. Europe, having been made mance before Norway's king and safe for democracy, was adjusting to a queen. new set of borders. In the United States "The Great Tour East" was, how­ the Twenties were getting ready to roar. ever, the Choir's first real "national" And, in Northfield, Minn., F. Melius tour. The crowds were small as they Christiansen was plotting a route and headed East, one of the members of the locating sponsors in preparation for tak­ 1920 chorus recalled recently. That was ing the choir of St. Olaf College on "because we had not gained wide what was to become the most impor­ recognition yet. But on the return trip tant tour of its eight-year history. from New York, news about our earlier By the conclusion of that 1920 tour concerts had spread, and we sang to to the great performing halls of the East packed houses." Coast and the Upper Midwest, the St. Spreading the word about the Choir Olaf Choir had established itself as one were some of the nation's best music of the country's best. Its a cappella critics. Their reviews included phrases style, the religious music which it pre­ such as these: sented, and the brilliance with which it "One of the rarest expositions of the sang that music gave a new dimension superlative in choral singing" (Chicago to choral performance and became the Herald-Examiner); model upon which hundreds of vocal "Such exquisite choral singing ... groups would establish programs of stands alone among the musical their own. achievements heard here in many a In January and February of this day" (Chicago Evening News); year, the St. Olaf Choir marks the 70th "One of the finest choral bodies ever anniversary of that historic trip by heard in Washington" (Washington undertaking a tour following nearly the Evening Star); and same route. This also marks the 22nd "The most remarkable musical event and final national tour for director of the season" (Baltimore Sun). Kenneth Jennings, who will retire at For sheer enthusiasm, however, the end of the 1989-90 academic year. nothing could compete with the review in the New York Evening World: Spreading the Word "Like the life-restoring breeze from the Northwest that sweeps over New Touring has been a part of the life of York at the close of a suffocating the St. Olaf Choir from its earliest days. August day after a thunderstorm, the Within only a few months of its found­ St. Olaf Choir descended upon us at a ing in 1912, the Choir was performing concert in Carnegie Hall and bestowed in Chicago and at stops along the way. upon us in the overwrought dying After less than a year and a half, it had music season a benison of song." embarked on an international tour, trav­ In short, the tour established the eling by steamer to Scandinavia, where group as a major force in American choral music, a position which it has the 75th anniversary of its founding, the maintained ever since. St. Olaf Choir traveled to the Orient, performing in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. An invitation to be National and one of only five choirs in the world to World Prominence participate in the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival in Seoul, Korea, in the summer Three factors have contributed to the of 1988, came as a singular honor for continuing prominence of the St. Olaf the Choir and its director. Choir in choral music. This year's tour will take the group First is the inspired leadership of to LaCrosse and Milwaukee, Wis.; founder F. Melius Christiansen and the Fort Wayne, Ind.; Ann Arbor and two gifted directors who succeeded Grand Rapids, Mich.; Kitchener, him: his son, Olaf, who led the Choir Ontario; Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y.; from 1941 to 1968, and Kenneth Jen- Springfield, Mass.; New York, N.Y.; nings, who has guided it for the past 22 Washington, D.C.; Lewisburg and years. Pittsburgh, Pa.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Second is the talent and dedication Madison, Wis.; Chicago, 111.; and of the students who make up the Choir. Minneapolis, Minn. Third is the annual tour. Rooted in The Choir is also an integral part of the success of the 1920 excursion, the the St. Olaf Christmas Festival. This annual tour has carried the St. Olaf program, which is also directed by music tradition not only to great con­ Jennings, features five of the College's cert halls, but also to hundreds of choirs and its symphony orchestra, and churches, community centers, and it draws more than 14,000 visitors to schools. the campus each year. It has been taped Under Jennings' direction the St. three times by the Public Broadcasting Olaf Choir has performed in all the System (PBS) for broadcast around the major music centers of the United nation, most recently in 1989. The New States and in many prestigious music York Times has called it "one of the festivals abroad. International tours in ten Christmas events in the U.S. not to 1970, 1972, and 1980 included the be missed." Heinrich Schiitz Festival (Holland), the The St. Olaf Choir also has made a Lyon (France) Festival, the Tongerin number of audio recordings, many of (Belgium) Festival, the Niirnberg which are available for purchase in the (Germany) Orgelwoche, the Bergen lobby at most concerts on the tour. (Norway) Festival, and the Strasbourg They can also be ordered by writing to: (France) International Music Festival, St. Olaf Records, St. Olaf College where Jennings conducted the opening concert of the 1972 festival Bach's Bookstore, Northfield, Minn. 55057, 507-663-3048. Mass in B minor — with the St. Olaf Choir, the Strasbourg Philharmonic and international soloists. In 1975 the Choir spent the January Interim Term in Vienna and also partic­ ipated, by invitation from the Vatican, in events for the Week of Christian Unity in Rome. In 1986, celebrating St. Olaf College St. Olaf, founded in 1874, is a four- nationally and internationally for its year, co-educational, liberal arts college programs in the sciences and mathemat­ of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in ics. The most popular major of current America. students is biology, with 325 majors, The mission statement of St. Olaf followed by economics (319), English puts into contemporary language goals (301), mathematics (298), psychology which the college has held for more (250), music (185), chemistry (182), than 100 years, noting that St. Olaf and political science (182). The College "provides an education committed to is also noted for an international studies the liberal arts, rooted in the Christian program which sends hundreds of stu­ gospel, and incorporating a global per­ dents annually to all corners of the spective. In the conviction that life is globe. More than half of every graduat­ more than a livelihood, it focuses on ing class has spent some time in study what is ultimately worthwhile and fos­ abroad on a St. Olaf program. ters the development of the whole per­ son in mind, body, and spirit." Acclaimed Arts Program The 3,086 students of St. Olaf are drawn from nearly every state in the St. Olaf holds accreditation in all country and from 17 foreign countries. four areas of the fine arts: art, dance, They enjoy a 350-acre campus that is music, and theater. both spectacularly beautiful and A distinguished faculty enables the equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. music department to offer two degrees: A student-faculty ratio of 12.6 to 1 bachelor of music, with a major in encourages individual learning and performance, theory-composition, teaching, while the diverse backgrounds church music, or music education; and of the students foster opportunities for bachelor of arts, with a music major cultural and religious expression. program, a history-literature or theory- It is through the St. Olaf Choir that composition emphasis program, or a many people hear, literally, about the teaching credentials program. College, but St. Olaf is also recognized It is not necessary to major in one of these areas, however, to be active in music. About one-third of all students are involved in making music through course work, private lessons, or participation in one of the College's many ensembles. These include the St. Olaf Choir and five other choral organ­ izations, the St. Olaf College Orchestra, the St. Olaf Band, and a variety of smaller ensembles. Whether as partici­ pants or as enthusiastic members of the audience, St. Olaf students enjoy a rich musical environment. (Continued, Next Page) Excellence and Access who could benefit from them. In 1989-90, 54 percent of St. Olafs stu­ Just as audiences regularly applaud dents received some form of financial the excellence of St. Olaf s musical aid; more than 14 percent of the Col­ ensembles, so, too, has there been lege's budget is devoted to this impor­ national recognition of the educational tant enterprise. program as a whole. In order to make sure that St. Olaf is The 1988 edition of The Selective able to sustain that commitment to Guide to Colleges (by New York Times access, the College has embarked on a Education Editor Edward B.
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