St. Olaf Orchestra brings music to Kalispell on Oct. 23
Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 1 month, 1 week AGO
The St. Olaf Orchestra conducted by Chung Park. (Courtesy photo)
The St. Olaf Orchestra, conducted by Chung Park, will perform at the Wachholz College Center at Flathead Valley Community College on Thursday, October 23 at 7 p.m. during their 2025 fall tour.
The concert is $20-40 reserved seating, and free for students of all ages. Tickets may be reserved online, by calling 406.756.1400, or secured at the door.
Named "one of the best college orchestras in the nation" by Time magazine's Richard Ostling, the St. Olaf Orchestra from St. Olaf College is known for its passionate music-making and professional-level performances. The orchestra is composed entirely of undergraduate musicians, who will perform a program that includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Valerie Coleman's Five O'clock Shout, and feature student soloists on works by Edvard Elgar and Max Bruch.
"Audiences will hear an orchestra that plays as a team and works towards a unified goal, made possible by the special culture we exemplify in the phrase 'Orchie Love,'" says Park. "We're excited to showcase the St. Olaf Orchestra's virtuosity, its ear for color, and their ability to bring music off of the page and tell a story."
The 2025 fall tour marks Park's fourth with the orchestra. In addition to his role as conductor, Park also teaches violin and viola lessons, private conducting lessons and seminars, and conducting classes. Succeeding Steven Amundson who conducted the ensemble for 41 years, Park feels a great responsibility to continue the rich legacy of the St. Olaf Orchestra and pass the tradition on to the next generation of students.
The St. Olaf Orchestra was recently named the winner of the 2018/2019 American Prize for Orchestra Performance among colleges and universities for the second time. In 2019, the St. Olaf Orchestra made their Carnegie Hall debut, performing with world-renowned violinist Sarah Chang. In addition to performing throughout the United States, the orchestra has been broadcast on PBS and public radio stations nationwide as part of the acclaimed St. Olaf Christmas Festival.
The St. Olaf Orchestra has toured internationally in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, China, Uruguay, and Argentina. Most recently, they traveled to Norway in the summer of 2025, performing solo concerts and joint performances with the renowned Oslo Chamber Choir.