Holiday for Orchestra with Ringers and Singers

Steven Amundson

Award-winning conductor and composer Steven Amundson spent 41 years building the St. Olaf Orchestra at St. Olaf College into one of the premiere college/university orchestras in the United States. A sought-after clinician, ccomposer and conductor, Amundson has led ensembles in 37 states and 14 countries and served as guest conductor for All-State Orchestras in 25 states. In 2016, he conducted a national youth orchestra festival in South Korea. In 2018 and 2023, Amundson served as a clinician for the American String Teachers National Orchestra Festival.

In addition to his tenure at St. Olaf College, Amundson has held conducting posts at the University of Virginia and as Music Director of the Tacoma Youth Symphony. He is the founding conductor of the Twin Cities'-based Metropolitan Symphony and served as Music Director and Conductor of the Bloomington Symphony (MN) from 1984-1997. Amundson has guest conducted professional ensembles including the Duluth-Superior Symphony, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Minnesota Dance Theater Orchestra, Rochester Symphony and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He also served on the conducting staff at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, the International Music Camp and the Lutheran Summer Music Program, among others.

Amundson did his musical training at Luther College, Northwestern University, the University of Virginia, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and the Aspen Music School. In the 1980 International Conducting Competition hosted by the Mozarteum and Austrian National Radio, Amundson placed first earning the Hans Häring Prize. In 1992, the Minnesota Music Education Association named him "Minnesota Orchestra Educator of the Year." In the fall of 1995, Amundson received the Carlo A. Sperati Award from Luther College in recognition of meritorious achievement in the field of music. Under Amundson’s direction, the St. Olaf Orchestra won the American Prize in Orchestral Performance among colleges and universities in both 2013 and the 2019. The St. Olaf Orchestra was often featured on PBS Television and National Public Radio, including the popular Prairie Home Companion and Performance Today programs.

A commissioned composer and arranger, Amundson is published by the Lauren Keiser Music Company, Neil A. Kjos Music Company and Boosey and Hawkes. Tempo Music Resource distributes his self-published works. His Holiday-themed works have been widely performed by hundreds of orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, San Diego Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Utah Symphony and Toronto Symphony. His Angels' Dance is recorded by both the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and the Houston Symphony. Amundson was a finalist for the 2014 American Prize in Orchestral Compositions for Handprints, which was commissioned by the Bloomington Symphony in 2012 for their 50th anniversary celebration.

He is honored and delighted to compose his newest work, “The Winds of Hope,” for the Buffalo Community Orchestra, Wright County Chamber Chorus, the Buffalo High School Concert Choir and the wRight Ringers. The premier performance of this work will include 4 current BCO members and St. Olaf alumni, all of whom were members of the St. Olaf Orchestra during Amundson’s tenure.