1974 VIKING UPDATE

St. Olaf is having complimentary copies of the Viking Update printed for each member of the Class of 1974 who submitted a biography, registered to attend reunion, or participated in the class gift. The books will be mailed in June. In the meantime, please enjoy the essay written by Classmate Becky Ringham Odland ’74.

Making Music with Mity

Becky Ringham Odland ’74

There have been many musical legends at St. Olaf College. Miles “Mity” Johnson, conductor of the St. Olaf Band from 1957 to 1994, was one of them. I know this from experience, having been lucky enough to make concert band my freshman year. I like to think it was because of my skill playing bass clarinet, but my parents were Concordia Cobbers with Mity, so that may have had something to do with it. In September 1970, we freshmen were welcomed into a band that had high musical standards and long-standing traditions.

In a cramped room of the WCAL building, we gathered late afternoons several times a week to warm up with scales, tune our instruments, and rehearse pieces from composing giants: Shostakovich’s Festive Overture; Respighi’s Pines of Rome; Elgar’s Enigma Variations; Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy: Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man; and my favorite, Wagner’s Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral.

Annual tours took place between Interim and second semester, mostly traveling to Midwest destinations by bus, performing in schools or churches, and staying with host families or hotels. There were skits, devotions, and shared meals. After graduation in 1974, the band traveled to Norway and England, creating memories of a lifetime.

What made Mity a legend? Sometimes it was the small things — a yellow legal pad full of notes, being demanding of us but also himself, having a twinkle in his eye or a burning gaze. If he thought of an idea during the night, it was tested by daylight. If we played exceptionally well, at the end of the piece he placed the baton down on his podium and in silence let it sit for ten seconds, followed by a huge sigh. Then the applause. In the big things, he had the ability to draw artistic emotion from the ensemble on one hand and host picnics at his house on St. Olaf Avenue on the other. His wife, Myrna, was our biggest cheerleader.

People talk about the power of music; I can attest to that. One of our last concerts on tour in 1974 was performed in the bombed-out ruins of Coventry Cathedral. The last piece we performed was Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral. The woodwinds begin quietly and sweetly. Slowly, one at a time, the brass sections make their entrance like waves thundering on a beach. Each instrument adds to the magical wholeness that is pure spiritual joy. It’s like a tearful brush with heaven that lifts the soul. Years later, I return to this musical memory when I need comfort. That is the power of music.

More essays and the biographies can be viewed in the digital version of the Viking Update accessed via the link below and entering the password.

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Please use this password to access the book: StOlaf_C74