St. Olaf Festival of Bands

St. Olaf Festival of Bands

Save the date! The next Festival of Bands will take place on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Updates will be posted here as they become available.

The St. Olaf Festival of Bands has enjoyed a long, successful history of bringing together outstanding high school musicians to prepare and share a program with nationally-acclaimed artists. An exciting and intense day of rehearsals culminates with performances by the Festival Band, the St. Olaf Band, and the Norseman Band. It promises to be a stimulating day for students and teachers alike.

At St. Olaf, music sings and plays its way into our lives every day. It’s not just music majors who participate in our ensembles, it’s one third of the entire student body. Click here for more information about music at St. Olaf!

The 2026 St. Olaf Festival of Bands Concert will take place on October 31 at 5:00 p.m. CT in Skoglund Auditorium at St. Olaf College. General Admission (no tickets required). Audience members may park anywhere marked “visitor parking” or “faculty/staff/visitor parking.”

This event will be streamed live [link forthcoming].

Interlacing lived experiences with innate passion, Henry L. Dorn is a nationally recognized music composer/conductor renowned for his energizing rhythm, syntax versatility, and passion for creating storytelling sounds with larger picture meanings. Dr. Dorn’s compositions encompass intimate narratives often told from the lens of being a musician and African American. He is passionate about developing immersive experiences while setting an example of his life signature — the path may not always be smooth or clear, but it will always be worth it. His works have earned him recognition and performances by distinguished ensembles across the country, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Music from Copland House, JACK Quartet, the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Argento Ensemble, and the Dallas Wind Symphony.

Dr. Dorn is assistant professor of conducting and composition at St. Olaf College and is conductor of the award-winning St. Olaf Band. 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.”

“Conducting the St. Olaf Band is always one of the most energizing experiences. I push them, and they push me. There’s no greater joy than the interaction I get with students, and finding those special ‘aha’ moments with them in the classroom or during rehearsal.”

As a composer, Dr. Dorn has earned several accolades. He was an Inaugural Future of Music Faculty Fellow with the Cleveland Institute of Music and an ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipient. He is a past participant in The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute, American Composers Orchestra EarShot, JACK Quartet’s JACK Studio, and Copland House CULTIVATE. He was in residence at MacDowell in summer 2023.

Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, 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. He his primary conducting teachers have been Kevin L. Sedatole, Harlan D. Parker, and Kraig Alan Williams. He studied composition with David Biedenbender, Ricardo Lorenz, Alexis Bacon, Oscar Bettison, Kamran Ince, and Jack Cooper, among several others.

Michael Buck, PhD is an adjunct associate professor of music and director of the Norseman Band at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Prior to St. Olaf, Dr. Buck held higher education posts serving multiple roles including coordinator of music education, director of nands, director of orchestra, jazz ensemble director, instrumental music education professor and chamber music coach at The College of St. Scholastica and Augsburg University.

Prior to entering higher education, Dr. Buck served over twenty years as a K-12 instrumental music educator in Minnesota and in two overseas American international schools in the Middle East and South Asia. His specialized areas of study include assessment/evaluation, teaching/learning pedagogy, brain research on music, and music technology.

Dr. Buck has presented peer-reviewed research projects and workshops in local, regional, national and international settings. His work includes appearances at the International Symposium of Assessment in Music Education (ISAME), the International Society for Music Education/European Association for Music in Schools (ISME/EAS), Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA), the South Asia International Schools Association (SAISA), the College Music Society/Association for Technology in Music Instruction (CMS/ATMI), the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA), the Minnesota Band Directors Association (MBDA) and the Perpich Center for the Arts.

An active band and orchestra clinician throughout the upper midwest, Dr. Buck has led numerous festivals and workshops, and is a frequent guest conductor of regional and conference festivals.

Dr. Buck’s leadership roles include chair of the Minnesota chapter of the College Band Directors National Association (MN CBDNA), MMEA Band Vice President, MMEA All-State Band and Orchestra section coach and Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony section coach (GTCYS).

Dr. Buck holds degrees from The University of Southern Mississippi, VanderCook College of Music and St. Olaf College in music education and conducting.