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This summer the St. Olaf Orchestra, conducted by Chung Park, will tour Norway in celebration of two historic milestones: the 150th anniversary of the founding of St. Olaf College and the 200th anniversary of the first organized migration from Norway to North America.

This is the St. Olaf Orchestra’s first international tour since 2019, and the first time Park will lead the ensemble abroad. It also marks the ensemble’s sixth visit to Norway — the ensemble previously visited in 1967, 1971, 1979, 2005, and 2019.

“It’s deeply moving to be going ‘back home’ to represent St. Olaf College at the end of our sesquicentennial year, and I can’t wait to spend two weeks with our students in one of the most beautiful countries in the world,” says Park. “We’re going to remember this trip for the rest of our lives. It’s a privilege to pay tribute to the Norwegian history and heritage of our college and honor it through music.”

“We’re going to remember this trip for the rest of our lives. It’s a privilege to pay tribute to the Norwegian history and heritage of our college and honor it through music.”

— St. Olaf Orchestra Conductor Chung Park

The St. Olaf Orchestra tour of Norway is the third trip abroad that will be completely cost-free for St. Olaf musicians thanks to a newly established endowment. In 2019 St. Olaf received a $4.2 million gift from Louis and Mary Kay Smith to create an endowed fund to support student travel costs for international music ensemble tours, and the college provided matching funds. Their gift built on an endowed need-based scholarship established by anonymous donors.

With these new funds, all students in the St. Olaf Orchestra will travel on the Norway tour cost-free, further reducing financial barriers for many students and increasing access to international opportunities. The St. Olaf Band was the first ensemble to benefit from the fund when students traveled cost-free across Japan in 2023, and students in the St. Olaf Choir similarly traveled cost-free while touring South Africa in 2024.

“Having fully funded tours at St. Olaf is an incredible blessing,” says Park. “That we don’t have to tell a student they can’t come along on a tour with us because they don’t have the means is deeply impactful. Louis and Mary Kay Smith knew they were going to change lives by making their gift, and we are so incredibly thankful.” 

The St. Olaf Orchestra has a strong tradition of touring internationally, most recently performing throughout Norway with the St. Olaf Choir in 2019, and in Argentina and Uruguay in 2016. The 2025 tour consists of six concerts across Norway, and will feature joint concerts with the award-winning Oslo Chamber Choir, which will join the orchestra in Oslo, Larvik, and Hamar for a collaboration of Norwegian and American artistry. 

“Working with the Oslo Chamber Choir is exciting simply because they are a world-class ensemble,” says Park. “To be able to collaborate with them and make music at such a high level is an incredible opportunity for us.”

The St. Olaf Orchestra will perform music by Johan Svendsen and Edvard Grieg to recognize Norway’s historical connection with St. Olaf College. The ensemble will also present works by Bach, Anna Clyne’s “Restless Oceans,” and movements from Sergei Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.” 

Along with rich musical exchanges and concerts, members of the St. Olaf Orchestra will also have the opportunity to explore the country’s western fjords, experience the stunning Trondheim Cathedral, visit composer Edvard Grieg’s historical home and local museums, and more.

Ticket information is available here.

2025 St. Olaf Norway Tour Itinerary:

Thursday, May 29
Oslo Domkirke, Oslo
Featuring the Oslo Chamber Choir

Friday, May 30
Bølgen Kulturhus, Larvik
Featuring the Oslo Chamber Choir 

Saturday, May 31
Domkirkeodden, Hamar
Featuring the Oslo Chamber Choir 

Tuesday, June 3
Oseana Kunst & Kultursenter, Os-Bergen

Wednesday, June 4
Operahuset Nordfjord, Nordfjordeid 

Saturday, June 7
Nidarosdomen, Trondheim