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

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

choral tradition. He succeeded his father as the second conductor of the

St. Olaf Choir The St. Olaf Choir is a premier a cappella choir based in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1912 by Norwegian immigrant F. Melius Christiansen, the choir has been influential to other church and college choirs for its performance of unaccompanied ...

, which he led for 27 years.

Background

The second son of famed choral conductor

F. Melius Christiansen Fredrik Melius Christiansen (April 1, 1871 – June 1, 1955) was a Norway, Norwegian-born violinist and choral conductor in the Lutheran choral tradition. Early life Fredrik Melius Christiansen, the son of a Norwegian factory worker, was born in ...

, Christiansen grew up in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

where he was actively engaged in both athletics and music. He played in high school with the St. Olaf Band. After a brief sabbatical, he began studying music seriously at St. Olaf College 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 theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with baritone Paul Parks.

Career

Christiansen began teaching music at the

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of t ...

in Oberlin, OH, 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 ritual. Relig ...

degree from Union Theological Seminary 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

, 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 abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

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 American male composers American composers 1984 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians