St. Olaf Orchestra conductor honors students with barbershop quartet
How many conductors does it take to make a barbershop quartet? Well, in this case, only one.
With all St. Olaf Orchestra performances and in-person activities suspended for the remainder of the spring semester, conductor Steven Amundson has dearly missed the weekly time he spends with his orchestra students. So like any good orchestra conductor would do, he decided to compose and record an original barbershop tune as an ode to those students, especially the seniors.
“We really miss our orchies, that’s certainly true… since you’ve been away we’re definitely feeling blue,” sings Amundson. “We miss making music, the kind that is profound, those melodies, those harmonies, that glorious sound.”
The end product, is quite something to behold:
After uploading the video to YouTube and St. Olaf College sharing it via social media, his tune has received more than 45,000 views and counting in less than 48 hours. It picked up so much speed that NBC affiliate KARE 11 in the Twin Cities reached out to Amundson for an interview, and profiled him in this story.
“I’ve been missing my students a ton and wanted to cheer them up during these strange and challenging times, and to offer my thanks for being such a meaningful part of my life,” says Amundson. “To all of my former orchies, you’re in my heart! This song is for you, too! Take good care.”