Nathan Rødahl Conducts Olympia Chamber Orchestra

by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS

Native Olympian Nathan Rødahl will conduct the Olympia Chamber Orchestra’s fall concert, where Arriaga’s Symphony in D, Janacek’s Suite for Strings, Korngold’s Shneeman (The Snowman), Debussy’s Petite Suite and Bizet’s Symphony in C come together in an unconventional performance. Each of the five composers share something in common with Rødahl, and the performance is designed as an intriguing riddle for the audience. There will be a prize for the individual who can guess the common thread.

Rødahl studied under the mentorship of Capital High School teachers Joe Dyvig and Dan Lundberg. “I began as a violinist in school, and loved perfecting a piece of music,” he shares. “As I got older, I felt there was a deeper level of music-making that I wasn’t tapping into. When I was a student at CHS, I expressed interest in conducting to my mentors, and they were very encouraging in providing me early conducting opportunities in school.”

Rødahl studied privately with Paul Elliot Cobbs (Tacoma Youth Symphony, Everett Philharmonic) and John Welsh (Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia, formerly of the Georgetown Symphony). At the age of 18, Rødahl earned his first professional conducting appointment with the Plateau Community Orchestra. Since then, he’s had conducting opportunities while studying at Pacific Lutheran University, most notably a tour of California with the PLU Kammermusik ensemble. He recently began work commissioning new symphonic works from Italian composers under the tutelage of Italian conductor Fabio Pirola. Rødahl was able to connect with the maestro through work as concertmaster for the Ensign Symphony Chorus at Benaroya Hall. Pirola is a conductor in Russia and throughout Europe.

Rødahl sings the praises of his musicians. “Being a community ensemble,” he says, “I’m excited to work with a group of people who have looked at their busy schedules and decided to devote their Tuesday evenings to the OCO. I’m hoping as many people as possible will be at our concert.”

What: Fall Concert

Where: Kenneth J Minnaert Center for the Arts,
South Puget Sound Community College,
2011 Mottman Rd. SW, Olympia

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4

How much: $13

Learn more: 360-866-7617 | OCO

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