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Biography
St. Olaf Choir is normally a popular beginner singing ensemble comprised of 75 associates, all undergraduate learners on the Northfield, MN-based St. Olaf University. It really is a mixed-voice choir that performs a massive repertory of spiritual in addition to secular music, from Renaissance-era to modern. While concerts are often performed a cappella, the SOC provides made an appearance with symphony orchestras, like the Minnesota Orchestra, with sibling ensembles, the St. Olaf Music group and St. Olaf Orchestra. Besides offering regular concerts in its locale, the SOC frequently continues on tour, having produced notable performances at Carnegie Hall and main concert locations in Chicago, Cleveland, LA, and across European countries and Asia. The ensemble also shows up annually on the St. Olaf Xmas Festival, which includes received television insurance from PBS and it is frequently broadcast over Minnesota Community Radio. The SOC provides produced numerous recordings over time, mostly alone label, St. Olaf Information. Several collaborative efforts can be found from Avie, Linn, and Vox. St. Olaf Lutheran Choir was founded in Northfield, MN, in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen. Its primary membership was just partially comprised of St. Olaf learners. The ensemble would afterwards drop “Lutheran” from its name and accept just learners as associates. Christiansen offered as director from the SOC until 1943, when his boy Olaf Christiansen been successful him. Younger Christiansen’s tenure was also extended, closing in 1968 using the visit of Kenneth Jennings as conductor. By that point the St. Olaf Choir was well-known internationally, and under Jennings the ensemble obtained sustained renown using its involvement in main recordings just like the Ravel Daphnis and Chloe, for Vox (1974), along with a 1975 appearance in Rome, on invitation through the Vatican, for ceremonies starting Holy Week. In 1986 Jennings broke additional floor, leading the SOC on its 1st far-Eastern tour, with concerts in China, Japan, and Taiwan. Jennings offered until 1990, when Anton Armstrong was appointed conductor. Armstrong offers turned out several well-known recordings during his tenure, with such as for example efforts as Progress Australia Fair, extracted from the SOC’s 1997 concert tour of Australia and New Zealand. In 2005 Armstrong led the SOC in concert in the White colored House to tag ceremonies for the Country wide Day time of Prayer. Armstrong still acts as conductor from the SOC. Among his as well as the SOC’s later on recordings may be the 2008 Mozart Requiem for the Avie label.
