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St. Olaf College music alumnus Joseph Kemper ’11 has returned to the Hill as an assistant professor of music and conductor of Chapel Choir and Viking Chorus. He arrives with both artistic and community-centered goals, looking to strengthen ensemble performances and deepen the college’s connections within the Northfield community.

Kemper holds degrees from the University of Michigan (D.M.A.), Yale University (M.M.), and St. Olaf (B.M., with departmental distinction). At Yale, he received the inaugural Robert Shaw Prize. Prior to returning to St. Olaf, he served as an assistant professor of music at Concordia College in Moorhead, where he was nominated for the 2025 Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award. While at Concordia, he created and led “Singing, Incarceration, and Restorative Justice,” which received the 2025 Dave Grant Program of the Year award from Minnesota Jail Programs and Services. 

Reflecting on his time as a St. Olaf student and a member of the Viking Chorus and St. Olaf Choir, Kemper says it was a truly life-changing experience. 

“It was transformative and special — I was challenged and grew a tremendous amount as a musician, and created lifelong relationships and friendships,” Kemper explains. “It was truly the foundation for my entire career, both in my musical journey and how I viewed music as a vehicle for conversation, for cross-disciplinary engagement, and as a tool for change.”

Fostering community within his ensembles is one of Kemper’s top priorities. 

“I want the students to feel connected to one another,” he says. “One of the things I talk about a lot is creating a ‘beloved community’ — it’s important how we treat one another and how we connect with one another. We make people through music, not music through people.”

A major part of that goal is rebuilding Viking Chorus.

“The long-term goal with Viking is to get the numbers back to pre-COVID levels. Historically, Viking was consistently 60 to 70 members, and 2020 really hurt membership,” Kemper explains. “But it’s not just about numbers — it’s that we want to welcome more people into this rich musical community and special St. Olaf experience of singing in a freshman tenor-bass ensemble.” 

For Chapel Choir, Kemper hopes to establish performance traditions and deepen ensemble connection and identity.

“My main goal is that we feel connected to one another, connected to our music, and proud of our hard work,” he says. “Another goal is to connect our concerts with social issues. Topics I’ve explored in the past are refugee rights, water rights, the environment, and incarceration — I think it’s important that our music connects to the world and experiences around us. Additionally, I’m excited to return to Chapel Choir performing an oratorio every spring in collaboration with [Associate Professor of Music] Chung Park and the St. Olaf Orchestra.”

Students from both ensembles are appreciating his efforts, noting his organization and intentionality within rehearsals and performances. 

“He is very meticulous and careful with the music,” says Moisés Duarte V ’27, Chapel Choir president. “The entire fall concert was precisely crafted, designed, and scripted by him.” 

The students in Viking Chorus also note the effort Kemper is putting into facilitating community within the ensembles. 

“I think that he, above all else, wants to create a welcoming rehearsal. He makes sure that people are talking to each other — he does a lot of ‘talk to your neighbor about this, or tell your neighbor one thing that you liked about our performance,’ or something like that,” Viking Chorus Vice President Nathan Howard ’29 says. “He has a very in-depth syllabus, and a lot of it is dedicated to making sure that for a first-year choir with many people who don’t have as deep of choral experience that they can feel like they belong in this environment — he’s made it approachable for anyone who will join.”

The Chapel Choir members agree that his community-building work is having a noticeable impact.

“I’ve been in Chapel Choir for three years, since my sophomore year, and having a different conductor each year has been a weird experience because the whole thing is that the conductor is supposed to stay and help foster that community each year and keep the same vibe going,” Riley Peterson ’26, the Chapel Choir secretary, says. “But this year has been particularly strong. I think it’s great that he is giving us the space to foster community as students.”

Kemper’s community-building activities are not limited to the rehearsal setting; he has taken concrete steps toward his goal.

“There are more people on our Viking Chorus leadership committee than in most other choirs,” Viking Chorus President David Thomas ’29 explains. “Having that expanded team means that we have more opportunities to foster community engagement.”

“He met with every single person in the ensemble — 105 people,” Duarte V adds. “I think that shows his commitment to community building. He’s a leader that cares for the people.”

Kemper’s former professors — now fellow faculty members — say they are thrilled to welcome him back. 

“As a student, he was extremely enthusiastic — that is super obvious,” says Professor of Music Marty Hodel. “He hasn’t changed at all in that way. Watching him conduct at the Viking Chorus home concert with that degree of accuracy, technical mastery, musicianship, and expressiveness — it was really great. He was one of those students that you hope the best for and that you know is going to be successful, and then when he demonstrates it in spades, it’s cool.”

St. Olaf Choir Conductor Anton Armstrong ’78, the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music, echoes that sentiment.

“He was always curious, and I think that curiosity is one of the things that has allowed him to grow into a fine pedagogue and a conductor,” says Armstrong. “As a student, Dr. Kemper always stood out as a leader and a wonderful musician — when I saw his application as one of the candidates for the Chapel Choir and Viking Chorus position, I was excited. During his on-campus interview, I was very impressed by the way he connected with the students in both choirs — he taught a very informed voice lesson with students, and he has a quick mind and a quick ear — he could figure out what to do and how to make good use of his time in both of those things. He was most successful in connecting with them; the energy that he brings is needed.”

This fall, Kemper is instructing the Music for Social Justice class that includes both classroom learning and community engagement. As part of the class, students organized an event, Voices for Trans Visibility, on November 15 at the Northfield Armory in recognition of Trans Awareness week. 

“The goal was to uplift trans voices, to support trans awareness, and to celebrate our diverse community,” Kemper says. “The students designed the event, built community partnerships, welcomed guest speakers and musicians from across our community, and fostered a meaningful space for belonging. This kind of event is all about students putting their boots on the ground and working to plant seeds for change in our community.”

Looking ahead, he aims to expand St. Olaf’s community-engagement efforts, especially through work with incarcerated individuals.

“A long-term dream of mine is to bring an incarceration-engagement course to St. Olaf that partners with the prison down in Faribault,” Kemper explains. “It would start with music, but a long-term goal would be building a wider coalition of programs on campus that include the arts and other disciplines. The mission would be to foster symbiotic interactions that provide positive experiences for incarcerated individuals as well as for students.”

Kemper says St. Olaf is an ideal place for this kind of work. 

“St. Olaf has always been a bastion of world-class music-making, exemplary academic rigor, and purpose-driven community. It is an ideal environment for teaching, where professors and students work closely together to imagine and carry out innovative and impactful musical initiatives both in the concert hall and throughout the community,” he says. “St. Olaf students are remarkable. Beyond being eager and precocious, they are passionate about enriching the lives of others and making positive impacts on the world. Being part of a community like this is inspiring. It is a profound honor to return to my alma mater, serve a place I deeply love, and help shape the next generations of Oles. I am home, I plan to spend the rest of my career here, and I am excited for what is ahead.”