Music at St. Olaf College

40 faculty and 30 courses in Music at St. Olaf College.

Faculty

• David Carter, Professor of Music – Cello h-index 21
  Study of jazz improvisation and early music performance (viola da gamba,) and participation in workshops with Pedro de Alcantara, a world-renowned practitioner of the Alexander Technique. Over a 35-year career of college teac
• Rehanna Kheshgi, Associate Professor of Music – Ethnomusicology h-index 2
  Es on community engagement through music with Somali diaspora communities in the US. Her project, “Somali Songs: Building Community through Sound,” which seeks to empower Somali youth and foster sharing of intergenerational know
• Alison J Feldt, Professor of Music – Voice; Associate Dean of Fine Arts
• Andrew Cannestra, Visiting Instructor of Music
• Anna J Clift, Adjunct Instructor in Music – Cello
• Anton Armstrong, Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music – Voice; Conductor, St. Olaf Choir
• April R Kim, Associate Professor of Practice in Music – Piano
• Brian Knox, Piano Technician
• Charles K Gray, Professor of Music – Viola, Violin
• Christine Boone, Visiting Associate Professor of Music
  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 AI, and her work on these subjects has been published in both books and
• Christopher Atzinger, Professor of Music – Piano
• Dale Kruse, Associate Professor of Practice in Music – Voice
• Dana Maeda, Instructor in Music – Oboe, Chamber Music, Music Education, Collegium Musicum
• David Castro, Professor of Music – Theory
  The music of Dmitri Shostakovich and Arvo Pärt, and the pedagogy of music theory. His most recent publication appears in the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy and he has presented papers at various conferences, both in the US and in
• Faith Kimbrell, Instrument Coordinator
• Henry L Dorn, Assistant Professor of Music – Conducting, Composition; Conductor, St. Olaf Band
• James E Bobb, Associate Professor of Music; Elliot M. and Klara Stockdal Johnson Chair in Organ and Church Music
• Jenna L McBride-Harris, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music – Horn
• Jerry Elsbernd, Visiting Instructor in Music
• Jill Mahr, Adjunct Instructor in Music – Handbells, Flute
• Joseph Kemper, Assistant Professor of Music
• Joseph Lee Jefferson, Associate Professor of Music – Jazz/Commercial Trombone; Director, St. Olaf Jazz Ensembles
• Justin Merritt, Professor of Music – Composition and Theory
• Kathryn E Ananda-Owens, Professor of Music – Piano
• Kurt Claussen, Adjunct Instructor in Music – Saxophone
• Leigh Ann Garner, Assistant Professor of Music – Music Education
• Lisa R McDermott, Academic Administrative Assistant – Team West
• Lori Folland, Staff Pianist
• Louis K Epstein, Professor of Music – Musicology; Department Chair of Music
• Marty Hodel, Professor of Music – Trumpet
• Matthew McClung, Visiting Associate Professor of Music – Percussion and Percussion Techniques
• Michael Buck, Adjunct Associate Professor of Music
• Orin Larson, Visiting Instructor of Music
• Rachel Brandwein, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music – Harp
• Reid Kennedy, Adjunct Instructor of Music – Jazz Drumset
• Sarah Hohenstein Burk, Adjunct Instructor in Music – Jazz Piano
• Thea Groth, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music – Bassoon
• Therees Tkach Hibbard, Associate Professor of Practice and Robert Scholz Endowed Chair in Music – Voice, Choral Conducting; Conductor, Manitou Singers and Chamber Singers
• Tracey Engleman, Professor of Music – Voice, Vocal Pedagogy/Literature; Department Associate Chair of Music
• Wesley Dunnagan, Assistant Professor of Music

Courses

• Introduction to Musicianship MUSIC 112
• Musicianship: Tonality MUSIC 114
• The Music Spectrum MUSIC 130
• The Art of Music MUSIC 131
• Rock Music: Style and Context MUSIC 134
• Race in 20th Century Music MUSIC 135
• Introduction to Musicology MUSIC 141
• Contemporary Styles Voice Class MUSIC 148
• Piano Class I MUSIC 161
• Piano Class II MUSIC 162
• Voice Class MUSIC 164
• Guitar Techniques MUSIC 165
• Brass Techniques MUSIC 166
• Percussion Techniques MUSIC 167
• String Techniques MUSIC 168
• Woodwind Techniques MUSIC 169
• Introduction to Kodály Pedagogy MUSIC 170
• Chromatic Musicianship and Form MUSIC 212
• Post-Tonal Musicianship MUSIC 214
• Instrumental Literature and Arranging MUSIC 221
• Composition I MUSIC 223
• Music in the Electronic Medium MUSIC 225
• Coding Music MUSIC 226
• Practicing for Musical Success MUSIC 227
• Jazz Improvisation MUSIC 229
• African American Song Literature MUSIC 230
• History of Jazz MUSIC 231
• Perspectives on Flamenco in Seville, Granada and Madrid MUSIC 234
• Music in Christian Worship MUSIC 235
• Church Music Practicum MUSIC 236

Roster/catalog compiled from the college’s public directory. Faculty counts are directory headcounts; the named list may be a subset. h-index shown only for ORCID-backed or high-confidence OpenAlex matches. Data as of 2026-07-01.