Welcoming Our Newest Faculty Members!
Henry Dorn
Conductor, St. Olaf Band; Assistant Professor of Conducting and Composition
Prior to St. Olaf College, Dr. Dorn worked as an Assistant Director of the Memphis Area Youth Wind Ensemble and formerly served as Director to the Nu Chamber Collective. He has also worked with musicians of the United States Army Field Band, the United States Air Force Band, and has guest conducted the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” As a trombonist, Dorn has performed with Slide Hampton, Chris Vadala, Luis Bonilla, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, the Sanctuary Jazz Orchestra, as well as alongside members of the Memphis, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Jackson Symphony Orchestras. Originally from Little Rock, AR, Dr. Dorn’s ardency toward composing sparked at an early age while he was surrounded by blues and the sounds of his father’s vinyl records collection. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition from The University of Memphis, a Master of Music in Composition and Wind Conducting from Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Conducting and a DMA in Composition from Michigan State University.
Joseph Jefferson
Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles/Applied Jazz Trombone
Trained in both classical and jazz traditions, Dr. Joseph L. Jefferson is a versatile and well-rounded musician who performs as a soloist, and chamber musician in Symphonic, Jazz, and Commercial musical settings both nationally and internationally. Recently, Joseph was selected as 1 of 40 music educators throughout the country to be featured in the “Yamaha 40 under 40” Class of 2023. He was also awarded the 2022 Ellis Marsalis, Jr. Jazz Educator of the Year by the Jazz Education Network. In 2021, he was appointed the Jazz Content Editor for the Historical Brass Society. Additionally, Dr. Jefferson regularly serves as a clinician/consultant for Jazz at Lincoln Center. As a performer, he has shared the stage with a variety of groups and artists such as Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Wharton, Sean Jones, Andre Hayward, John Fedchock, The Irish Tenors, The Cab Calloway Orchestra, and Randy Brecker, among others. Dr. Jefferson has been an invited guest artist and presenter at the International Trombone Festival, Jazz Education Network Conference, Darkwater Festival, and many others.
Prior to arriving at St. Olaf, Dr. Jefferson held faculty positions at Southeast Missouri State University, The University of Portland, and Treasure Valley CC. Dr. Jefferson has earned degrees from Norfolk State (B.M), Shenandoah Conservatory (M.M.), and West Virginia University (D.M.A.).
Marita Stryker
Assistant Professor of Voice
Marita Stryker is joining the St. Olaf voice faculty, with an emphasis on Musical Theater. Prof. Stryker received both her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Oklahoma City University, studying with incredible teachers, the most influential being Florence Birdwell. She has continued to study voice technique and pedagogy, being heavily influenced by the Estill technique and her work with Tom Burke in his Holistic Vocology Teacher Training. She is an NCVS-trained vocologist, having studied with some of the most reputable voice scientists in the world. She is also a certified yoga instructor, and has studied at The Breathing Project NY in Embodied Anatomy and Kinesiology with Amy Matthews and Leslie Kaminoff. Before coming to the Hill, Prof. Stryker served as an adjunct voice professor and vocal coach for the American Spirit Dance Company at Oklahoma City University, as Associate Professor of Music with the musical theatre school at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Japan, and most recently as an adjunct instructor of contemporary voice at Shenandoah University.
Christine Boone
Visiting Associate Professor of Music, Music Theory
Dr. Christine Boone received her B.M. in vocal performance at Indiana University and both her M.M. and Ph.D. in music theory at the University of Texas. Christine’s research interests are centered around popular music. She has presented papers on the Beatles in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Her current research focuses on mashups, and her work on the subject has been published in several forums, including Music Theory Online. Christine, a soprano, is also an active performer in both choral ensembles and solo work.
Reid Kennedy
Visiting Instructor, Drumset
Reid Kennedy is a drummer and composer based in St. Paul, Minnesota. A native of Winona, Minnesota, he was formally introduced to music through six years of classical piano training. At the age of eleven, Kennedy was awarded first place in a statewide composition contest, and the following year he enrolled as a percussionist in his beginning band program. Kennedy’s original music has appeared on Fox, Showtime, The Learning Channel, and WCCO Television and has been pitched to a wide range of film and television agencies including Coca Cola, Chrysler, Universal Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, ABC, NBC, CBS, A&E, TNT, USA Network, VH1, and more. He has enjoyed professional collaborations with Ernestine Anderson, Katisse Buckingham, Taylor Eigsti, Mark Gross, Judith Hill, Richard Johnson, Timotha Lanae, Joe Lovano, Delfeayo Marsalis, Gunther Schuller, and Walter Smith III, among others, and has had the privilege of studying with Bernie Dresel, Peter Erskine, Jeff Hamilton, Phil Hey, Steve Houghton, Rich MacDonald, Fernando Meza, Steve Yeager, and Dave Weckl.
Adam Reinwald
Adjunct Instructor in Music, Director of Viking Chorus and Chapel Choir
Adam Reinwald will be leading Viking Chorus and Chapel Choir at St. Olaf this year. He is a nationally recognized vocal chamber artist and conductor, and is in demand as a coach and strategist for small- to mid-size arts organizations, focusing on new media and virtual/digital branding. Adam combines artistic and administrative leadership from over two decades of experience in the nonprofit arts sector. Adam co-founded Cantus, the acclaimed artist-led male-vocal ensemble, in 2000, and oversaw programming and Board development during a 17 year tenure. Adam is the Artistic and Managing Director of Kantorei, a nonprofit chamber choir in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Adam is the owner of Beer Choir, a communal singing event organization with 35 active chapters nationwide, and the operator of Open Voices LLC, nurturing artists and building community.
Music – Upcoming Events
Academics
St Olaf Music has a robust academic department. Learn more about the variety of programs.
Ensembles at St Olaf
St Olaf is well known for their award-winning ensembles. With seven choirs, two orchestras, two concert bands, two jazz bands, and a variety of chamber ensembles, there is a place for everyone to find a musical home.
Music Performance Studies
Our Music Performance Faculty are second to none. We offer a wide selection of voice and instrumental lessons for anyone to study.
Future Ole Musicians
Are you interested in being a Future Ole Musician? You will find all you need to know on how to begin the application process to music scholarships and deadlines.
Current Ole Musicians
Are you currently an Ole musician? Here’s where to find all things you need in the Music Department including calendars, forms, degree information, recital information and more.
Are you new to St. Olaf this year? Here’s a page with information to get you started!
St. Olaf Music Department Response to Racial Injustice and Systemic Racism
We, the faculty and staff of the St. Olaf College Music Department, condemn the murder of George Floyd, just 40 miles from our campus, and the countless acts of violence against Black bodies across the United States that have continued over the centuries to this day. We recognize that these acts represent but a small portion of the physical and verbal racism our Black colleagues, students, alumni, and fellow musicians face daily. We join voices with people of all races and creeds around the world protesting injustice. With them, we call for the end of racist law enforcement practices and of systemic racism, prejudice, and violence in all forms.
While we acknowledge efforts of the past, we recognize that St. Olaf College and the St. Olaf Music Department have failed to provide an environment in which all students, staff, and faculty of color thrive. We are dealing with systemic failings, masked by the prevailing campus culture at St. Olaf, a culture defined by centering Whiteness. We live and work in a society permeated by racism, anti-Blackness, and the marginalization and erasure of the lives, work, and voices of Black, Brown, and Indigenous People. We must engage in anti-racist action to further the cause of equity for all. We are determined to do the individual and collective work necessary to create more equitable, more inclusive, and more culturally-relevant learning environments for our students.
- We commit to investigating and interrogating the role of white supremacy in our departmental, collegiate, and national history.
- We commit to examining our pedagogies, the cultural practices of our department, and those of the college, to recognize and end those that inflict violence against Black bodies and create an inequitable environment at St. Olaf.
- We commit to developing and implementing anti-racist, culturally inclusive pedagogies and policies that foster the liberation and self-actualization of our students through music.
- We commit to working with our students to help them understand their responsibility in being active participants in this work.
As musicians, we are trained to listen.
We will be listening intently for voices that have been silenced and muted.
Black Lives Matter.
Music Department News
St. Olaf music professor to host Korean Composers Festival
Joseph Jefferson named new St. Olaf Jazz conductor
St. Olaf Band will travel to Japan in first cost-free international tour for students
Henry Dorn named next conductor of the St. Olaf Band
St. Olaf Jazz to perform at Crooners
Through Our Lens: The St. Olaf Christmas Festival
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