St. Olaf Orchestra To Perform at Allegheny College

Oct. 10, 2012 – The internationally known St. Olaf Orchestra from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., will perform at Shafer Auditorium at Allegheny College on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. There is no ticketing, and admission is free.

Called “one of the best college orchestras in the nation” by Time magazine’s Richard Ostling, the St. Olaf Orchestra is known for its passionate music-making and professional-level performances.

The orchestra’s national tour this fall will feature a repertoire that includes Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians,” “Fete” from “Trois Noctournes” by Claude Debussy, “Danzon No. 2” by Arturo Marquez, “Sensemaya” by Silvestre Revueltas, “Valse Triste” by Jean Sibelius and Suite No. 2 from “Daphnis and Chloe” by Maurice Ravel.

Audrey Slote is a cellist with the orchestra. A 2009 graduate of Meadville Area Senior High School, she is the daughter of Ben and Susan Slote, who teach English at Allegheny College.

The St. Olaf Orchestra, led by conductor Steven Amundson, is perhaps best known for its annual performances of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, broadcast on PBS and public radio stations nationwide. In 2004 the St. Olaf Orchestra topped hundreds of applicants to perform at the National Association for Music Education conference. In 2011 the orchestra was selected to perform at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Conference.

In addition to performing throughout the United States – and notably as Garrison Keillor’s guest on broadcasts of “A Prairie Home Companion” in 2001 and 2011 – the St. Olaf Orchestra has performed internationally in Norway, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Spain and China.

Steven Amundson is in his 31st year on the faculty of St. Olaf College, where he teaches in addition to leading the orchestra.